The Fallen Renegade
by Ikarus Solotov
Summary: He hated his life, his relatives, and most importantly, his own weakness. So when he chances upon a Denarius coin, he took it, even if it meant damning his own soul in the process. And now, he's a Denarian, the host of a Fallen Angel, and the Fallen is hungry for vengeance; and for him, absolutely nothing will stand in his way. Based on Shezza's Denarian Renegade. Slight HP/FD.
1. The Boys-Who-Lived

**The Fallen Renegade**

**I do not own Harry Potter, Dresden Files, or the Denarian Series.**

**Based on Shezza's Denarian Series WITH ****HER**** PERMISSION.**

**Summary: ****He hated his life, his relatives, and most importantly, his own weakness. So when he chances upon an ancient Denarius coin, he took it. Even if it meant damning his own soul in the process. And now, he's a Denarian, the host of a Fallen Angel, and the Fallen is hungry for vengeance, and absolutely nothing will stand in his way. Based on Shezza's Denarian Renegade. Slight HP/FD.**

**Harry is 1 year older than cannon. ****He's rather d****ark**** and s****arcastic. ****Wrong Boy-Who-Lived theme.**

talking

_thinking/parsletongue/foreign language_

* * *

The Boys-Who-Lived

James Potter was overjoyed, yet terrified at the same time. He was faced with one of those moments that ALL males learned to fear: His beloved wife was in labor. Like any men, he started panicking when his wife announced that her water broke and he rushed his very pregnant wife to St. Mungos while sending Patronus messages to his close friends. Now as he sat next to Lily while holding her hands, he wondered if he would ever regain his hand functions.

"AAAAHHHHH! JAMES CHARLES POTTER, DAMN YOU ALL THE WAY TO HELL FOR MAKING ME GO THROUGH THIS! I SWEAR WHEN I'M DONE WITH THIS I'LL CASTRATE YOU AND RIP OFF YOUR BALLS AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR THROAT!" James instantly paled upon his wife's threats. While Lily was normally sweet and kind, she was scarier than an angry, fire-throwing Veela when angered and her death threats, combined with her bone-crushing grip, was making him whimper in fear.

Behind the closed door from the room, James could hear faint sound of loud sniggers from his so called friends as Sirius Black and Remus Lupin shared a laughter at his expense.

Apparently, Lily had good sense of hearing as she snarled at him. "AND DON'T THINK YOUR STUPID FRIENDS ARE EXCEPTIONS CAUSE I'LL KICK THEIR BALLS TO NEXT CENTURY SO THAT EVEN THEIR GREAT GRANDCHILDREN WILL FEEL THE PAIN!" Immediately, the sniggers stopped as two marauders gulped as they knew that Lily did not hand out death threats idly since Lily ALWAYS kept her promise of pain.

After long agonizing hours Lily Potter nee Evans finally gave birth to her first born on 11:59 p.m. on July 31st. As the newborn baby's cry filled the room, James whispered to Lily. "You did it Lily! We are finally mother and father!"

The doctors wrapped a warm blanket over the newborn baby and gave it to the tired, yet proud parents. "Congratulations! You gave a birth to healthy baby boy!" Lily gave a tired yet satisfied smile as she accepted her bundle of joy from the doctors.

The doctors quietly left the couple to their privacy as Sirius and Remus all but ran into the room shouting "Where is he? How are you? Wha-" "James where is-" James Potter turned to his friends with wide grin and was about to answer them when they were cut off by an angry female voice. "SHUT UP ALL OF YOU! I SHOULD REALLY HEX YOU LOT WITH TESTICLE RUPTURING CURSE!" The three marauders immediately closed their mouth as they gulped in unison. They had learned over the long years, quite painfully, how deadly furious Lily Evans could be.

A sudden gurgling noise from Lily's arms stopped her from giving now meek and terrified males severe tongue lashing as she turned toward the source of new sound. Wrapped in a blanket, the newborn baby sleepily opened his eyes and took in his surroundings and tried to reach out with his arms to the person who held him.

"He has your eyes Lily!" James quietly exclaimed in awe as he and the rest of marauders(minus Peter) gathered around Lily. "And he has you infamous Potter hair." Remus said with small chuckle as he observed the patch of raven black hair. "What will be his name?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Aries. Aries James Potter." Lily said quietly as she fondly gazed at her child. "Aries? Are you sure? Why not name him Sirius Sexgod Po-" Whatever Sirius was about to say quickly died on his lips as he quivered under Lily's glare much to James' and Remus' amusement. "Don't you dare finish that sentence Black!" Lily hissed at him.

Turning her attention back to the child in her arms she fondly muttered "He shall be my Aries of Zodiac."

.oOo.

1 year later.

From then on Aries returned to Godric's Hollow with his parents and was frequently called as "Arry" by his parents and everyone eventually began to call him "Harry" as his nickname. James and Lily gave birth to an another boy at July 31st and they named him Benjamin. While Aries had messy raven black hair with almond shaped emerald eyes, Benjamin received red hair with brown highlights with hazel eyes of his father.

On the night of the Halloween, Voldemort confidently walked up to the house that held his so called enemy. Just few hours ago, his worthless minion, Peter Pettigrew, informed him how he became Potter's secret keeper with Sirius Black acting as a decoy and gave him the location he needed.

He sneered at a rabble of kids dressed in ridiculous customs and idly fingered his wand beneath his robes. _'Muggles. Such a worthless waste of human flesh. I should cull the lot of them in blood and fire_.' In the end, he decided he didn't need to cause give out his location by pointless killing them and give away his intentions for tonight. He needed Potters unaware until it was too late.

His mind wandered to the prophecy he had heard from Snape. "_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies..._"

He sneered as he thought _'Do they really think they'll defeat me! I, Lord Voldemort, the greatest Dark Lord in history and heir to noble Salazar Slytherin, being defeated?'_ But still, he decided he wouldn't take any chances and proceeded to his destination.

Upon reaching the Potter manor hidden under the Fidelius Charm, Voldemort gave a swish with his wand and bypassed the ward thanks to Peter selling them out. Pointing his wand at the front door, he hissed softly "_Bombarda_!" and stepped in as the door exploded inward, sending wooden splinters flying into the house. He smiled coldly as he heard a terrified scream and startled yelp from within the house and was confronted with James and Lily Potter.

"It's him! Lily! Take them and run! I'll hold him off!" James shouted in panic as he dived away from the Killing Curse and hastily grabbed his wand as he finished the roll by coming into a crouched position.

_"Reducto!"_ James snarled as he slashed his wand with fury, hatred and fear all rolled into one.

Smiling cruelly with dark amusement, Voldemort easily batted away the curse and cackled gleefully. "What's this? There is also Longbottom in Potter manor? Looks like I'll be killing two birds in one stone!" The Dark Lord hissed as he saw a glimpse of two baby faces when Lily Potter hastily picked up the babies and ran upstairs.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_ Voldemort snapped.

The sickly green curse erupted from the end of his wand and sailed over to the Potter patriarch but James was able to conjure a chair to block it. As the chair was blasted apart, he quickly transfigured nearby sofa into a lion and ordered it to attack. As amusing as it was to see Potter struggle against him, he was running out of time and decided to end it quickly.

_"Enlecarum Tolarose!"_Voldemort hissed.

Bright yellow ball of light gathered at the end of his yew wand and exploded outward. James Potter only had a second to register before the spell tore through his transfigured lion and onto himself. He felt the spell impact him and it hurled him across the hall where he crashed into the wall with painful crack. Without glancing at his downed foe, the Dark Lord ascended the stairs until he reached a closed door to nursery while hearing Lily desperately try to barricade the door. He enjoyed the sound of terror and hopelessness from the red head for a moment before blasting away the door like he did with the front door.

.oOo.

Lily fought a wave of fear and urge to sob as she tried to barricade the door. Everyone else was at Order meeting and she just had sent a plea for help with the phoenix medallion Dumbledore had given to all Order members. Despite her actions, Lily knew that it was already far too late for them to arrive in time.

Stepping in to the room as he blasted apart the door, he saw Lily with wide eyes as tears ran down her cheeks in fear.

"Step aside girl, you are in my way!"

"Please not the children! Take me instead!"

As he was about to respond, the mother of chosen children flicked her wrist and yelled _"Reducto!"_

Voldemort quickly batted away the curse and sent a dark cutting curse at her. She quickly conjured up a shield but her eyes widened when 3 different curses immediately followed after and shattered her conjured shield. The last one slammed into her defenseless body and flung her away like her husband as she crashed unconscious onto the wall before sliding down in a motionless lump.

He muttered derisively. "How pathetic, Dumbledore must finally be suffering from his old age if this is the best his Order can do." Stepping closer to the children, he carefully observed his prophesized foes with his malevolent, glowing red eyes. Three children lay before him, two were wailing in fright much to the Dark Lord's irritation while the other sat carefully observing him in return.

One of the crying children had red hair with hazel eyes while the other had mousy brown hair with brown eyes.

_'The brown haired brat must be Longbottom and the red hair one should be Benjamin Potter_.'

Snorting in disgust at their increasingly annoying wails, Voldemort turned to the final child. Unlike the crying brats, this one was closer to him than the other two. He had a messy black hair with alabaster skin and glowing emerald eyes that reminded him of his favorite Avada Kedavra curse.

Aries Potter. The eldest Potter child.

Staring into the eyes of his fated foe, he felt as if two killing curses were aiming into his soul. Voldemort carefully aimed his wand at the child's forehead. Despite the countless number of people he killed, he wanted to see the death of this one more than any others.

"This must be the one. Goodbye Aries Potter. Too bad you had to die today."

He softly whispered _"Avada Kedavra"_ and watched as jet of deadly green beam erupt from end of his wand and strike at the head of Aries Potter. To his shock, the sickly green beam actually _stopped_ as it struck the child's forehead. Before he could process what has happened, the child gave a pained yell and the curse rebounded at him.

Voldemort gave a scream of pain, shock and anger as the rebounding killing curse connected with him, ripping his tattered remains of soul from his body. The room exploded with shower of green light, dust and wooden beams as the force of the curse tore apart the nursery. Voldemort's body turned to ashes and the sharp, flying splinters made deep cuts on Benjamin's cheek in crudely shaped "S" while glowing edge of a perpendicular shaped metal fell onto Neville's forehead and branded the "V" shaped scar.

.oOo.

Frank and Alice Longbottom were currently at the meeting of the Order of the Pheonix with other members. The war against Voldemort and his Death Eaters were increasingly turning grim as more and more people were slaughtered and everyone knew that magical community was being slowly torn apart.

"Albus, the Dark Lord is planning something big. Based on Snape's report, he's been hiding something from rest of his Death Eaters that not even his Inner Circles are aware of." Moody grunted as he shifted his weight from wooden leg to other one.

.oOo.

From the front of the house, a rat with tail resembling a worm gave a terrified squeak as Potter manor's upper level exploded. Shivering with fear, it cautiously made its way into the house and came upon the nursery. The Dark Lord was nowhere in sight and a pile of ashes, dark cloak and his wand remained. Thinking quickly, the rat took the wand with its mouth and scurried into the darkness of the night.

.oOo.

Albus Dumbledore, the leader of light and headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, turned his blue eyes to scarred veteran and nodded. "Indeed, whatever he is planning Voldemort has chosen not to divulge his plans to anyone but himself and I doubt Severus could find out his goal." Dumbledore spoke while ignoring the flinches everyone made at the Dark Lord's name.

Remus Lupin frowned as he asked "Perhaps, Snape has been found out that he is a double agent?"

"No, I do not believe so. I know for a fact that Tom had undertaken few missions he considered crucial by himself from the past. He had done several while he was still a student at Hogwarts." Dumbledore answered with worry in his voice.

Sirius ran his hands through his hair and sighed "Well shit, whatever he is planning it's extremely important that he trusts no one but himself."

Nodding in tired agreement, Dumbledore swept his gaze upon the room. Some were old while others were young. Yet, on each and every faces of the Order members Dumbledore could see the weariness that plagued them due to the toll war had taken on them.

"On the other hand, the Dark Lord seems to be planning a raid on several families." Dedalus Diggle said in tired voice.

"Which ones? Are they those of the Order?" Molly Weasley asked with worry as she shuddered at the idea of her family being targeted.

Surprisingly, it was Mudungus Fletcher who answered "No, it seems to be the Greengrass, Davies, Zabini and several other neutral families. Heard from my sources in Knockturn Alley that Death Eaters have been visiting their homes."

"Thankfully, they seemed to have refused aiding him and was adamant about staying neutral." Fletcher continued.

"To the Dark Lord there is no such thing as neutrality, either they are with him or against him." Amos Diggory stated grimly.

Dumledore nodded "No doubt, Voldemort will be attacking them to send messages to the public and get his hands on their vast fortunes to fund his war efforts."

Frank grunted in frustration "I don't get it. Why don't they just join us if they rejected the Dark Lord? Might as well just fight against him if they are going to get attacked for staying neutral."

"They are quite stubborn and are not inclined to change." Moody grunted back.

"I do not see James and Lily here. Where are they?" Dumbledore asked while looking around the room.

Alice answered "They are at Potter manor with Neville. Lily volunteered to look after him with Aries and Ben."

"And Peter?"

"Well he said -" Whatever Frank Longbottom was about to say was stopped as Dumbledore suddenly stiffened and turned his wide, panic-filled eyes to his phoenix medallion. It was vibrating and emitting red aura.

"The Fidelius Charm! Potter manor is under attack!" Dumbledore shouted hoarsely as fear entered his voice.

"No! Our son and Potters are there!" Alice yelled with fear and panic for her child and friends.

Dumbledore swiftly rose to his feet along with rest of the Order. He shouted out "We must go at once!" and swiftly ran out of the room to apparate to Potter manor.

_'The prophecy children are at one place and I cannot allow them to perish or our world is doomed. It looks like this is what Tom had been planning all along..._'

.oOo.

Apparating to the Potter manor, the Order of Pheonix popped into existence with loud CRACK. The sight they saw shocked them. The second floor of the manor was blown up and the roof had caved in. Alice let out a chocked sob and raced into the house yelling in fear. "Neville! Lily! James!"

Snapping out of their stupor, Dumbledore led rest of them into the house and saw James Potter slumped on the far side of the entrance hall face down. Sirius quickly ran over and checked his pulse, to his immense relief, his best friend was still alive, albeit barely. "James is still alive! He's suffering from cracked skull, 2 broken ribs, and shattered arm!"

Nodding in satisfaction, Dumbledore quickly gave out orders to have someone take him to St. Mungos and ascended upstairs. Upon entering the nursery, he scanned the room for any dangers.

Alice rushed past him and shouted. "Neville! Lily!"

The three boys were lying in middle of what once was nursery. Aries laid on his stomach and was quiet while Ben and Neville were wailing with tears rolling down their cheeks.

"Albus wha- what is this?" Remus stammered as he pointed at a pile of ashes and a black cloak.

"It seems the Dark Lord has been vanquished. The prophecy has been fulfilled." Dumbledore stated almost in disbelief as he beheld the children with relief and incredulous expression.

After making sure Lily Potter was fine and sent to the hospital like her husband, Dumbledore turned to the three boys. Ben and Neville were crying and were bleeding from their scars on their cheek and forehead respectively while Harry seemed to be knocked unconscious. Looking more closely, he could make out the "S" shaped scar on Benjamin's cheek and "V" shaped scar on Neville's forehead while Harry had a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

"And the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal..." Dumbledore muttered. Unable to distinguish which one the Dark Lord had chosen, Dumbledore quickly scanned the boys' scars and to his dismay, could not decide which one was the curse scar due to lingering dark magic around them. Seeking another method to identify the Boy-Who-Lived, Dumbledore scanned their magical core and found that while Ben and Neville had average amount of magic, Harry's core was low in magic.

_'There is no way that the one Voldemort have chosen could have low magical strength. It must be Ben and Neville together..._' It never occurred to him that Harry's magical core was low due to reflecting the killing curse. And thus, Albus Dumbledore made a decision that would alter the flow of fate.

By now, Potter manor was being flooded with people as Order members, ministry officials, aurors and other people apparated in. Striding out of the house, Dumbledore confronted the throng of people and raised Neville Longbottom and Benjamin Potter so they may see the children.

"Lord Voldemort has been defeated! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Neville Longbottom and Benjamin Potter! The vanquishers of the Dark Lord and Boys-Who-Lived!"

The crowd erupted in cheers and joy as they celebrated the downfall of the Dark Lord. Some wept with joy while others literally broke down in sobs with relief.

.oOo.

6 months later...

Upon announcing the fall of Voldemort and birth of Boys-Who-Lived, Benjamin and Neville were hailed as Wizarding world's heroes and were showered with affection by their respective parents.

Currently, Potter manor was filled with people as friends of Potter gathered at their home to socialize. Laughter and joy was in the air as they talked, danced and generally enjoyed freedom that had been denied since Voldemort.

Aries, or Harry as he is often called these days, was just sitting on the floor enjoying the new shiny toy he had found: his father's golden Snitch. He giggled and reached out with his arm as the shiny golden ball fluttered its wings and stayed just out of his reach. Ben and Neville, seeing the elder child's fascination, crawled to his direction and attempted to catch the Snitch themselves. However, before they can do anything, Aries caught the golden sphere with surprising dexterity for a two and a half year old.

Ben who had inherited James' personality, loved being in center of attention like his father and has grown quite spoiled by his parents past six months. Seeing that his older brother had the object of his fascination he determinedly crawled toward him and pried the Snitch from Aries' hand. Upset at his loss, Aries tried to take back the Snitch but was caught in three way struggle between Ben, himself and Neville, who also wanted the shiny golden ball.

As his frustration built, Aries lashes out and his magic reacted and performed his first accidental magic: he flung Ben across the floor about a meter. Ben immediately shrieked as he was skidded across the floor and began to bawl his eyes out for his parents.

The adults who were talking short distance from them, immediately turned heads toward the source of shriek and watched with shock-filled eyes as Benjamin was flung across the floor away from Harry.

Lily quickly made her way to her precious son and began to coo "It's alright sweetie, mommy's here. Shhhhh."

"Albus did you see that!" James exclaimed

"Yes. It seems that Harry has just performed his first accidental magic. I'm quite surprised that he performed it at such a young age." Dumbledore answered with furrowed brows as he contemplated this new development.

"He could have hurt his brother and my Neville!" said Alice as she picked up Neville to her arms.

"Albus we must talk." With that James, Lily and Dumbledore quickly made their way into an empty library and shut the door.

"What should we do? Harry almost hurt Ben!" Lily whispered with fear.

"We cannot allow Benjamin to be hurt! He is our savior for Merlin's sake!" James muttered while rubbing his forehead.

"Perhaps a distance is needed between them." Dumbledore suggested.

"How? Keep them in separate rooms? It's still too risky." Lily nodded in agreement with her husband.

"Maybe we can let him stay with other families until he turns eleven, then we will reclaim him." Dumbledore suggested once again.

Lily and James spoke quietly trying to come up with a solution. Finally, they reached an agreement.

"You are right. We have decided that Ben and Harry needs to be kept separate. Ben is going to be trained by you and we cannot afford to have Harry become jealous of him or hurt him as result. We have decided to give Harry to Lily's sister." James spoke in calm manner.

Dumbledore's brows shot up "Are you sure my boy? Surely such drastic measures doesn't need to be undertaken? Why not some other magical families? I'm sure they'll be delighted to receive the brother of the Boy-Who-Lived."

"No, we cannot afford to have Harry hear about Ben since it might cause him to be jealous. Besides, with Lily's sister Harry will be safe from Death Eaters with blood ward you can create." James replied back.

With a sigh, Albus Dumbledore turned to them and nodded. "Very well, Harry will be sent to Lily's sister."

As Potters went out, Dumbledore grew pensive. While he did not want their savior to be hurt, he did not want Harry to be largely ignorant of the magical world by being sent to live with muggles.

_'I hope we know what we are doing..._'

.oOo.

And so Albus Dumbledore found himself at the doorstep of Number Four of Privet Drive. He gently laid down the baby wrapped in blanket and a small note to inform Petunia of situations. Before he turned and apparated away he muttered. "Good luck Aries Potter, I truly am sorry but it is for the Greater Good. I hope you can forgive his old man for his actions." With one last sorrowful expression, he vanished into the night.


	2. The Rescue

**The Fallen Renegade**

**I do not own Harry Potter, Dresden Files, or the Denarian Series.**

**Based on Shezza's Denarian Series WITH ****HER**** PERMISSION.**

**Summary: ****He hated his life, his relatives, and most importantly, his own weakness. So when he chances upon an ancient Denarius coin, he took it. Even if it meant damning his own soul in the process. And now, he's a Denarian, the host of a Fallen Angel, and the Fallen is hungry for vengeance, and absolutely nothing will stand in his way. Based on Shezza's Denarian Renegade. Slight HP/FD.**

**Harry is 1 year older than cannon. ****He's rather d****ark**** and s****arcastic. ****Wrong Boy-Who-Lived theme.**

talking

_thinking__/P__arsletongue/foreign language_

* * *

The Rescue

7 years and 6 months later...

The moon shone through the night as it bathed the earth with its luminous light while the stars twinkled across the vast stretches of the night sky. The forest below was dark, yet had almost tranquil like aura. All in all, it was a beautiful night.

The peace and tranquility of the area was shattered by single, terrified shriek. A small figure walking through the wilderness suddenly stopped as it turned its hooded face toward the direction where he heard the scream. The figure had been wandering through the forest for a while now without knowing the direction to his destination. Now with the sound of faint shriek from a distance, the robbed figure with hood covering upper half of the face began to pick up the pace as he rushed toward his goal.

As he drew closer, the yelling grew louder and he could hear faint sound of struggle and cursing of men. Keeping to the shadows, the robbed figure crouched behind a particularly large boulder and peered over at the source of sound. Three men stood guarding the entrance of rather well-hidden hideout that seemingly melted into the background. Boxes of supplies and crates laid strewn here and there with other camping items while faint rows of lanterns illuminated the passage into the small structure.

The shriek and yelling the figure had heard seemed to be coming from inside the camouflaged, man-made building judging from a small commotion inside.

The figure smirked and thought _'All too easy. They won't know what hit 'em.'_

Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, the small figure crouched and jumped into the air. Curiously, he did not fall down rapidly as he should've but seemed to almost glide in the air before landing behind the three guards with cat-like grace. Making a small, almost inaudible sound as he landed, the figure jumped to the back of nearest unsuspecting sentinel and unsheathed his dagger silently before covering the man's mouth with one hand while driving in the weapon onto his exposed neck.

The man gurgled as the dagger drove home before sagging as life faded from his eyes. The sound of man's dying gurgle and a body hitting the ground alerted other two guards as they spun around to face the unknown assailant. Before they could cry out in alarm to warn the others, two ashen wings of bone erupted from the small, robbed figure's back and struck forward, piercing their necks with deadly accuracy.

The men twitched before going still. With careless flick of his ashen wings, the corpses were flung aside so they wouldn't be accidently discovered. Withdrawing his bone wings, he stalked toward the entrance while keeping to shadows. The cursing and decidedly feminine yelling steadily grew louder with each steps he took.

The building he was in was circular with large space in the middle almost like the fabled Coliseum. It was three stories high and on each level, guards were stationed while vast majority were down at the ground floor as they talked and laughed as they leered over at something.

_'Hmmm... I'll need an advantage of surprise.'_

With that, he made his way to the stairs that led to top floor as men were preoccupied. He could feel the wave of emotions emitting from around him. The men emitted feelings of savage delight and lust while the building was soaked with terror, despair and misery. Frowning at the foreign emotions of others, he peered over at the object of men's attention.

A large cage was stationed off to the side where group of women were trapped within it. They were bound, gagged and blind-folded as tears ran down their cheeks. It was from them that feelings of fear came from.

_'Slave traders.'_ He thought darkly. _'Looks like this building is their base.'_

Sneering distastefully at his targets and ignoring the terrified women, he began to concentrate. _'Let's see... Where is- Aha! Found it!'_

With his destination found, he made his way toward his target before encountering a guard. Slowly taking out his dagger again, he silently made his way toward the unsuspecting guard as he was leering over at the women. Jumping at the guard's back, he covered the guard's mouth to stifle his scream and plunged the dagger on to his neck as he did a while ago. He dragged the body away before it could fall to the ground and propped it against the wall.

As he made his way toward his goal, he quickly but quietly dispatched guards stationed around the top floor, leaving him to easily stand front of the room that overlooked the ground below.

A small room with closed door stood in front of him. The robbed figure could sense two emotions within the room. They radiated smugness, satisfaction and greed.

_'Bingo.'_ With that, he quietly opened the door and immediately took in the interior of the office. Two men sat on the couches in front of a large table where stacks of gold Galleons was neatly piled on it. A metal storage stood at the corner while several wands laid on top of the desk along with several jewelries and other shiny items that looked valuable.

The men turned toward the door as they heard it open. The robbed figure could easily make out that they were the leaders of slave traders as their robes were more finely made than those of below. One man was fat and balding with beady eyes as he counted the gold coins with look of smug greed while other man was more lanky and taller. He lazily sat on the couch with one leg over the arm of the couch while drinking from a bottle of firewhiskey.

The figure on the door was rather small, almost like a child's. Hood covered the figure's upper half of the face and was dressed in entirely black muggle clothes. Only thing that stood out was a shiny silver coin that hung around the figures neck with thin chain of finely made metal.

"Hey who-" Whatever they were going to say was immediately cut off as the small figure jumped forward with inhuman speed and pierced their necks with ashen wings of bones that suddenly tore from his back. Their eyes widened and gave a wet gurgle as the figure leaned into them.

"To the victor goes the spoils." The figure whispered. With that he roughly jerked his wings apart and watched with satisfaction as his their heads were ripped from their bodies.

The blood splattered against the walls and began to pool around their corpses as it gushed from their now headless bodies. Satisfied that they were silenced without raising alarms he withdrew his wings with wet squelch and turned toward the pile of Galleons lying on the table. With a wide grin, he chuckled "Jackpot!"

Taking out a small, bottomless bag he began to dump the coins into it. After dumping the last of the coins, he began to loot the rest of the valuables that laid on the desk. While rummaging through the office for loot, his eyes landed on the metal storage on the corner. Taking out his wand he pointed at the lock and whispered "Alohomora."

The unlocking spell failed as it encountered rather heavily warded storage. Whatever it housed, it was guarded well. Shrugging at the failure, the figure muttered "Oh well, it was worth a try. Looks like I'll have to do what I always do."

With that he once again brought forth his ashen wings of bone and stabbed at the metal container. The spells and wards around it resisted the wings for a moment before failing as dark magic radiating from the wings easily overpowered them. Ripping the door from its hinges, he looked inside and his face broke into even bigger grin at the more gold stored inside it along with several items and jewelries that looked they could fetch rather high prices. Eagerly dumping the contents into the bottomless bag, he encountered several files.

Curiously flipping it open, he found a map and several documents. On the map, it displayed locations of other bases but this one seemed to be the main one. Brief scan of the documents showed that it detailed their plans and "goods" that they smuggled.

"Huh, well I would love to go visit the other bases and loot them but they are too far." Shrugging, he tossed the files onto the table. As he was about to leave, he paused at wands lying on the desk. After a brief moment of thought, he decided to put them into the bag as well.

With one last sneer at the corpses of disgusting men, he strode out from the office he had stripped of valuables. Upon his exit, he immediately grimaced as foreign emotions bombarded his mental walls. Peering over the rails, he looked toward the source of still-going struggle. A group of five men surrounded a small figure that seemed to be fighting them.

A young girl, with long silver blonde hair that reached up to her upper back valiantly struggled against her attackers. With a snarl, she drew back her hand and a ball of fire formed around it. With a yell, she threw it at one of the men who were holding her. Her target gave a loud scream as it connected with his face and burned his skin along with his hair. One of his friends immediately conjured water from his wand and put out the fire.

_'Well what do you know... A Veela. The girl is quite talented to have conjured up the Lustfire at such a young age. Not to mention, she is STILL struggling.'_The robbed figure turned his head away from them and looked at the speaker. A woman materialized next to him as she looked at the ongoing struggle with hint of curiosity.

She was the most beautiful woman he had seen during his entire life. Her dark hair sparkled under the dim light and deep, soul-alluring silver eyes regarded him with fondness and affection when she turned toward him. Her full lips were reddish pink that seemed to slightly curve upward with hint of mischief and smile whenever she spoke to him. Her skin was faint alabaster like his although hers was a shade lighter while dressed in a white and silver dress seemed to sway gently along with her movement and hugged her beautifully shaped body. All in all, she looked like a goddess.

"That girl is a Veela? Why I haven't noticed with her fire-throwing ability." The figure snorted with sarcasm. Chuckling at his antic, the woman turned to him.

_'What will you do my beloved Aries? Shall we just go or will you dispatch them?'_ She asked.

Aries sighed. "Their cursing is getting rather annoying and I might as well finish what I started since I did their leader and friends a favor by ending their pathetic existence. Can't give one without the other. After all, favoritism is not fair."

"Got any plans Meciel?" He asked.

_'While you would normally dispatch them from the shadows without exposing yourself, in this situation there isn't much places to hide. This building was designed so that their prisoners wouldn't get away by hiding. Charging in is the only option we have. We have element of surprise for now and change into Bone Wyrm, your magic is still developing and you can't use spells that are too powerful just yet.'_ Meciel spoke in her melodious voice.

Looking over at the caged women, he said "They are all blindfolded. Good, that will help us out since they won't see anything." With that he leaped into the air and descended onto the five unsuspecting men below.

.oOo.

By now the men had subdued the girl and tied her hands behind her back while blindfolding her and gagging her mouth like other women. Leering at the girl, one of the men grunted in French.

_"Damn, this girl took quite a while. Shall we break her as punishment?"_ He said while licking his lips in anticipation.

_"No, we will fetch higher prices if she is undamaged. Some people will pay high prices to have a Veela child as their toy."_ A burly man, who was the leader of the five grunted back.

_"Such a shame. I never had a Veela before."_ Another man replied.

_"Yea well-"_ One of the man was suddenly cut off as something large crushed him as it fell on top of him with a mighty roar.

.oOo.

As the figure descended, he let the dark power flow through his veins as he felt intoxicating pleasure envelop him along with smell of burning sulphur. As the power flowed throughout his body, he felt his body shift and morph into something bigger. Something much more powerful. With smell of sulphur invading his nostrils, he changed into a _demon_.

Two ashen wings, made out of iron-hard bone with sharp blades on its edges, jutted out from his back. His entire body lengthened and grew bigger until his small child-like frame transformed into towering seven foot. His arms shot forward as it lengthened and grew powerful, bulky muscles covered with thick armor-like scales and plates of bones. His hands changed as deadly looking claws emerged from his long, thick fingers made entirely out of ashen bones while his hands turned beefy and scaled. His legs thickened and grew longer as it sported powerful muscles to uphold his heavy frame while his pants were sucked into his body. His five-toed feet changed into four-clawed feet with three on the front and one on the back while his shoes disappeared. His chest expanded as his lungs grew bigger and thick muscles, accompanied by armored plates of ashen bones, surrounded his chest. Plates of armored bones formed on top of thick muscles around his shoulders and trailed down to his waist in order to protect his vital organs. A thick tail, with plates of bone armor, jutted out from back of his hips and ended with wicked looking blade. His head transformed as his mouth extended outward in reptilian snout filled with sharp teeth. His nose changed into thin snake-like slits. His hair clumped together and flattened on to his skull and changed into ashen horns that adorned his head like wicked looking crown. Lastly, his eyes finally changed as they became sharp slits. Two sets of eyes appeared on his face, one set glowing eerily green while other glowing luminescent silver. A glowing silver sigil appeared on his forehead, a sword pointing downward with two lightning bolts next to it while bird-like wings surrounded the sword and lightning bolts, the same sigil as the one engraved on Meciel's coin that hung around his neck.

With a mighty roar, he descended on one of the man and crushed him beneath his weight. His wings lashed out and pierced two man on his sides while with his claws tore off head of the leader. The man behind him let out a shriek of terror before his tail swung to the side and slashed open his stomach with its sharp blade before sending him flying across the ground. Other men on the ground floor immediately cried out in alarm as they leaped on to their feet before sending curses and hexes on his way.

With another roar, he leaped on them while dodging the spells sent his way with unnatural speed that belied his towering form.

.oOo.

Eddy was terrified. Things have been going so well for past week or so. They had captured lot of attractive young women through combination of trickery, force and cunning. The highlight of the week had been when they captured the Veela child that they just subdued moments ago. Apparently, she was the eldest daughter of Sebastian Delacour, French Ministry of Magic's head of the Department of Foreign Affairs and one of its top ranking officials and a very rich man. Many people knew that he had married a half-Veela and looked at him with jealousy while some others, especially blood-purists saw this as a transgression for he was a pureblood.

Now if they could've played their cards right and blackmailed him, they could receive enormous amount of ransom and live the luxurious lifestyle they could only dream of. He was stationed as a guard on the second level and grunted in annoyance; he would've preferred much more if he was on the ground below with others as they leered at the barely clothes women in the cage.

The little hellion turned out to be a quite a challenge. The moment she woke up, she immediately began to kick and scream as his friends surrounded her. They had forgotten that she was a Veela when they saw her throwing fireballs at the unlucky fool. They had managed to restrain her with _Petrificus Totalus_ until they blindfolded, gagged, and tied her like others.

Then suddenly something dropped on top of them and everything turned into a pandemonium. It had dispatched five men in mere seconds and was tearing apart those below as he nimbly dodged spells with surprising agility despite its size as he and others from upstairs sent spell after spell at it.

He watched with satisfaction when his dark cutting spell and Bombarda spell it its shoulder and chest respectively through a dumb luck. To his shock and fear, the hexes bounced back or simply shattered upon impact from creature's armored plates. Shrugging off the spells that impacted with it, the beast simply went on with its slaughter as if it never got hit.

His comrades began to yell out "What the hell is this!" "Kill it!" "Help!"

They were quickly silenced. As he look on with wide, terrified eyes Eddy could see it was something that resembled a humanoid dragon. Its hulking frame was supported by two thick, muscular legs that ended with four-clawed feet. Its arms were bulging with muscles and covered with plates of bone armor while on its hands five fingers that looked like claws tore through flash and bones with ease. The tail swung lazily through the air and ended with sharp blade. Wings of ashen bones that looked like those of bird's were constantly in motion as it slashed with their sharp blades. Its reptilian heads was terrifying sight to behold as two sets of eyes, one set eerily green while other luminescent silver seemed to pierce everything with its merely gaze.

He had never heard or seen such thing, until now. A terrified scream tore through past his trembling lips as he shrieked in terror "Demon! A demon! Run!"

With the battle forgotten, he turned and ran out for the exit since the building was warded with anti-apparation and anti-portkey wards to protect them from aurors. Now, it served as their undoing. Apparently finished with those below, the demon turned its gaze toward those above and spread his bone wings. Dark, black emerald flames enveloped the bones and spread to the space in between them and jumped toward them with wings of fire. With one or two flaps with its burning wings, it was upon him.

He heard terrified screams from his comrades as it tore them apart with its hands, spilling blood on the walls, the floor, and itself but it did not notice any of these things. With his friends dead, the demon turned its searing gaze to him before snatching him up by grabbing his head with its big, beefy, scaled hands and tearing his head from his body.

.oOo.

Fleur Delacour was scared. First, she was stunned by someone and when she woke up, she was in this dreadful place with disgusting looking men around her who leered over her body with lecherous grins. As she turned her head toward the side, she saw scantily clothed woman who were blindfolded, gagged and tied while inside the cage.

Cold weight saddled on her stomach as she realized who they were. Slave traders. She immediately began to struggle and succeeded in freeing her hands while kicking with her feet toward her captors. Immediately, five of them sought to grabbed her but her fear, combined with adrenaline rushing through her body, lent her some strength before she drew back her hand and felt warm power flow into it.

Her mother had explained how Veelas could change into large humanoid, bird-like creatures and throw fireballs when they became angry or under extreme emotional stress. Now with terror flowing through her, her Veela power emerged from its dormant state earlier than it should've and heeded her call for help.

She watched as fire formed in her hands before throwing it at the man who had his hands little too close to her thigh than she liked and watched with satisfaction as his face burned. Unfortunately, one of his friends seemed to snap out of his stupor before quickly casting watering charm on him and petrifying her with _Petrificus Totalus._

With her body petrified, she could only helplessly look on as they tied her hands behind her back and gagged her with a piece of cloth and blindfolding her. Preventing her from any form of escape. Then she heard what these men say and it sent shiver down her spine and couldn't help but feel the tears escape from her eyes.

_"Damn, this girl took quite a while. Shall we break her as punishment?"_ She heard one of them say it.

_"No, we will fetch higher prices if she is undamaged. Some people will pay high prices to have a Veela child as their toy."_ At that she felt relief at the first part before sending more fear through her body at the second part.

_"Such a shame. I never had a Veela before."_ Another man said.

_"Yea well-"_ Whatever he was going to say was suddenly cut off something large seemed to land on top of him and she could hear the bones crack on the impact and felt the shock as the ground trembled.

Among the cries of surprise, Fleur heard something that sent her into panic: a powerful bestial roar that rattled her teeth and sent her shrinking back as her Veela side immediately recognized a predator unlike any other. She tried to scream out in terror and struggled against her binds but all she managed was a muffled scream.

Screams of pain and gasps of dying invaded her ear along with mighty roar of the great beast. At that moment, Fleur never felt so scared in her life. She had literally flown out of frying pan and into the fire as she instinctively drew her legs close to her chest in effort to hide and make herself as small as possible. Among the sounds of slaughter, she could barely make out the sound of whimpers of other woman as they too, felt primal fear course through their veins.

Then Fleur suddenly heard a terrified shout "Demon! A demon! Run!" Then a sudden rush of air as the sound of fire roared into existence before hearing a flapping sound that sounded more like a small thunder with each beat.

More screams followed before the last shriek was cut off with a loud SQUELCH.

All was silent until they heard a loud roar that echoed throughout the place as the thing roared with satisfaction and victory in a primal way to proclaim its triumph to the world. Then with a flapping sound, it landed on the ground where she and other woman were. Unlike them Fleur was still out in the open where the men had left her while the women were inside the cage.

_'So this is it. This is how it ends, devoured by the beast that killed my captors.'_ She thought.

Footsteps sounded as it drew closer to her and Fleur began to whimper in fear. Whatever control she had left was destroyed as it stopped right in front of her. Squeezing her eyes tight she prepared for a blow to finish her.

_'Please let this painless! I don't want to be hurt!'_ She prayed.

She was very surprised when soft, _human_ hands removed her gags along with her binds. Finally they removed her blindfold and opened her eyes to look into the swirling pool of piercing, dark emerald eyes that literally glowed with raging power and darkness. They radiated such intensity that made her bit uncomfortable and feel as if she was a tiny bug under that muggle device called microscope. It seemed pierced through all her defenses and leer into her very soul.

.oOo.

The demon flapped its flaming wings before landing on the ground with a small thud, where it first landed before. Releasing the dark power that flowed through him with intoxicating pleasure and rushing power, the demon began to turn into its original shape.

_'You did well Beloved. You got the money and disposed you enemies.'_Meciel softly spoke in his mind.

Sighing as pleasure faded away from his consciousness, Aries turned around to look at his surroundings. Corpses lay strewn here and there missing limbs and in some cases, literally torn in half. The walls were splattered with blood of the fallen and pooled around the bodies. He, himself was almost soaked with blood.

_'Well I got the money, did the world a favor by killing these pathetic assholes, and saved a bunch of almost naked girls. Not bad for a day's work.'_ He thought smugly.

A faint sound of muffled whimper caught his eyes. The young girl with silvery blond hair from before was trying to edge away from his direction while the women in the cage seemed to shrink away from him and huddled together to find comfort in each other's presence before their supposed "doom."

He stalked forward to the girl who seemed to shiver more violently with each step he took before stopping in front of her. Sighing in annoyance, he gently untied the gag and the bindings before removing the blindfold. The girl slowly opened her eyes and they widened as she looked into his eyes. They were a pair of brilliant sapphire blue that seemed to sparkle with life, surprise, relief and exhaustion while having a dazed expression on her face.

"Somebody ordered a heroic rescue?" He said while smirking smugly down at her.

That seemed to snap her out of stupor as she curiously flicked her wide eyes upward, away from his eyes and blood splattered face, to where his lightning shaped scar lay half hidden by the bangs of his messy black hair.

_"You saved me..."_ She replied in French as her wide sapphire blue eyes took in his appearance.

His eyes widened as he realized his mistake. _'Shit! I forgot to bring my hoods up!'_

Quickly bring up his hood to cover half of his face while turning away, he still replied in English. "Where are the damned keys?"

Looking around the bloody carnage, he growled in annoyance and whipped out his wand. He said "Screw this! Accio cage key!"

A chain of keys flew out from a pocket of one of the mangled corpses and landed on his hand. Twirling his wand around his fingers, he handed the keys to the girl. "Here, take this and unlock the cage. Go free the prisoners."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Here are the wands I found." He took out his bottomless bag and reached inside and took out dozens of wands or so before tossing them at the girl who clumsily caught them as she was still in the state of shock.

With that, he turned to leave but was stopped as the girl stumbled after him while saying something in French, which he had no idea of.

_"Wait! Who are you?"_ She cried out.

Suddenly, he stiffened before whirling around to face her. No, his eyes were looking at what was beyond her.

_'Aurors! Looks like they finally found the place due to high level of magic being cast and the sound of battle!'_ Meciel hissed in his mind.

"Tsk! Gotta run!" He replied. With that, he turned and swiftly ran away from the direction of entrance to back door exit he found while slipping in.

Kicking open the door, he quickly scanned the area before muttering simple disillusionment charm to hide himself. As the yelling of the aurors grew louder along with number of pops as they apparated outside of the structure, the boy began to run. His demonic power allowing him to run faster than any normal human could and quickly vanished into the night

.oOo.

Fleur watched as the boy turned and ran away from the entrance. Desperate to know who had saved her, she was about to follow him but a cry forced her to stop.

_"Fleur! Where are you! Are you here!"_ A voice cried out.

Turning toward the source of the yell, Fleur turned back and yelled back _"I'm here daddy!"_

Sebastian Delacour, along with dozens of aurors, blasted open the entrance door and strode in. Upon seeing his eldest daughter running toward him, he rushed past the aurors and got down on his knee as silver bullet slammed into him.

_"Thank Merlin you are safe! Are you ok? Are you hurt?"_ Sebastian asked frantically after hugging his precious daughter to his chest in a bear hug.

Fleur wept with relief as she cried tears of joy upon seeing her dad. _"I'm fine daddy! They didn't hurt me! I am fine."_

_"I was so worried when I found out you were missing! I searched everywhere for you and I'm so sorry it took so long."_ Sebastian said with relief upon hearing his daughter was fine.

_"They tied me up but someone rescued me!"_ Fleur said while hugging her father.

It was then he actually looked around his surroundings. It was an utter carnage. Blood was splattered everywhere and pooled around mangled bodies that were brutally torn apart. Aurors had opened the cage and were helping untying the scared women while conjuring up blankets to cover their shivering bodies.

_"Somebody saved you? Who?"_ Sebastian asked.

_"They blindfolded me and tied me up but I heard a bestial roar. Something landed on the ground and fought the men who kidnapped me!"_ Fleur said frantically.

_"I thought it was going to kill me but a boy came and removed my binds and blindfolds!"_ She continued.

_"A beast? That was what caused all this? And who is the boy? Where is he?"_ Sebastion said as his brows scrunched together in confusion.

_"I don't know papa but he ran away as soon as he freed me. He ran toward the exit at the back I think."_ Fleur replied.

Leading his daughter out of the bloodbath, he gave her to the mediwizards and witches as he quickly conversed with the other aurors. They revealed that women they spoke with all said the same thing. Something landed in middle of the floor with bestial roar and proceeded to slaughter the men. Next thing they know, they heard a young voice of a girl speaking with another voice that decidedly sounded like a male child before he hurried off few moments before their arrival. It was said that the boy spoke must be a British as he spoke in English.

.oOo.

As Fleur was being examined by mediwizards and witches, her thoughts wandered to her mysterious savior. The boy had the most piercing emerald eyes than anyone she knew. She didn't know what the bestial roar was but was sure it was connected to the boy somehow. She wasn't stupid, she was very intelligent and could deduce that the boy had somehow saved her from her captors although she couldn't figure out how he was connected to the roaring beast.

The boy had an almond shaped eyes and messy, raven black hair that seemed to reached up to his jaws while his bangs reached just above his eyes. It contrasted sharply with alabaster skin and his eyes. It was his eyes that commanded the most attention. They were swirling pools of power and a hint of frightening darkness and they pinned her to where she was. A lightning shaped scar on his forehead and was half hidden by his bangs but her sharp eyesight caught it. Judging by his size, he would be no older than she was. He must be around nine or ten. Despite his age, he was quite handsome.

She blushed and shook her head to clear those thoughts. _'I need to get stronger. I was saved by a luck and I can't afford to be in another situation like this again. I won't be as lucky then.'_ She thought.

Turning her thoughts to her mysterious savior once more she thought. _'I hope one day we see each other again so that I may thank you. I will be stronger when I see you once more and I hope to learn your name next time...'_

* * *

**Whew finally finished with this chapter! Took quite long but I'm satisfied with it. I know Meciel was created by Shezza88's Denarian Series but she essential for this story and I got the permission to base my story off hers.**


	3. Diagon Alley, Wand, and Rebirth

Diagon Alley, Wand, and Rebirth

Aries felt himself slowly brought back into the waking world as his consciousness arose from the sweet, alluring sleep. Grunting in annoyance at the morning light, he tossed in the bed as he tried to go back to sleep.

_'It's time to awake beloved.'_ Meciel whispered in his mind.

Letting out a sigh, he woke with a yawn and reluctantly rose as he made his way to the bathroom to freshen up himself. Rolling his slightly stiff muscles, his mind drifted onto the night before.

_'One of these days, I really have to learn how to apparate. Walking all the way back here was a pain in the ass.'_ He mentally grumbled.

Yesterday was a good day. He robbed the slave traders of their money and valuables before embracing the pleasant tingle that accompanied hellfire to slaughter them.

_'Oh well, it's not like the world is gonna miss them in any way.'_ He thought_. 'Aurors must have been looking for them for a while judging by the number of them who popped up.'_

_'Too bad for them we got the money first.'_ Meciel chuckled.

Smirking at the mental image of their flabbergasted expression at the missing money, he spoke out loud. "When are you going to start teaching me some real magic? I know mental defense lessons you are giving me are interesting but I want to learn how to cast more powerful spells. I can't always depend on my demon form to get me out of tight spots."

_'Your magic is still developing. If you overtax it, your magical core might be damaged easily beyond repair. I think that's why most magical folks don't allow their kids to start casting too much magic until they reach age of eleven.' _Meciel said.

"Still, can't you teach me some combat oriented spells? Common charms are not exactly powerful." Aries stated while splashing his face with water.

_'I never had a magic user as a host before so my knowledge is somewhat limited than I would like. However, when I was among the Order of Blackened Denarius, I did have some of my Fallen underlings who possessed wand-wizards and true wizards. Also, there were some other Denarians bonded with spell-casters.'_ Meciel explained.

"So we need to get some magical tomes in order for you to teach me?" Aries asked while sighing in small disappointment.

_'Do not worry Beloved. While I do not know everything about wand-wizard magic, my knowledge on magic is significantly greater than most wizards and other Fallens. Besides, when you grow older I will teach you Forgotten Magic that have been lost throughout the ages. I will teach you how to wield the powers that angles and demons themselves wielded as they waged war against each other on the battlefield of eternity eons before my fall.'_ Meciel softly whispered.

"Now that would be awesome! How strong are the magic wielded by immortals compared to the magic used today?" Aries curiously asked.

_'Suffice to say that with right control, you could destroy an entire army of magic users in single blow. I do believe Sahara Desert was formed due to clash of powers between immortal beings.'_ Meciel replied while chuckling at his enthusiasm.

"You mean that the entire desert that stretches across African continent was formed due to fight between immortal beings?" Aries asked incredulously.

_'Indeed. In the meanwhile, you need to work on mental magic, I believe wand wizards called it Occlumency or something like that.'_ Meciel replied.

"So how does this help other than calming me down?" Aries asked.

_'It helps you to stay in control over your emotions and thoughts and you are going to require tremendous amount of focus and control in order to master what I will teach you later on. Also it can keep out unwanted mental intrusion by others._' Meciel softly spoke.

"People can look into my head?" Aries exclaimed with alarm. If they managed to get inside his head, they will undoubtedly discover Meciel's presence.

_'Only those who learned with counter part of Occlumency. It's called Legilimency and it forcibly enters someone else's mind to read their thoughts.'_ Meciel explained.

_'But unlike mortals, I do not need to use such crude method to read their thoughts. Remember when you felt other's emotions the night before? The terror from women and lust and greed from men were my way of reading their minds.'_ Meciel continued.

"Yea... I can't say it was a pleasant feeling when other people's emotion bombarded me. So how did you do it?" Aries said with slight frown as he remembered other people's consciousness pressed against his.

_'Everyone has certain amount of mental "wall" around them. By "lowering" these walls you can feel their thoughts. It's like being a magnet for thoughts. You do not need to forcibly enter other people's mind to know what they are thinking, people generate their thoughts and emotions on the surface and they are simply drawn to you.'_ Meciel said.

"But wouldn't it leave me open for mental attack?" Aries asked with a frown.

_'Yes, to a degree. But by being aware of thoughts and emotions around you, you can sense their intents and will know when someone is about to attack or harm you in any way. Allowing you to respond before they form an attack. The best defense is always best offense.'_ Meciel patiently responded.

"Is that why I was able to dodge the spells those slave traders sent me so ease?" Aries asked with wonder.

_'Yes, your consciousness was aware of its surroundings and picked up your enemies' intents with ease. You were able to pinpoint their exact locations and the course of their spells' aim, allowing you to dodge them easily. Bone wyrm might be quite agile despite its form but even it cannot perform like you have done.'_ Meciel said with pride as she regarded her host.

"So if I master this, I will be able to control my emotions, guard my mind, read other people's thoughts, and pinpoint my assassins before they can get close to me?" Aries asked excitedly.

_'That pretty much sums it up.'_ Meciel spoke with amusement.

"On that note, how long do we have to stay in France? Your translation charm is helping but it's rather annoying to not understand what other people are saying. The sooner we get to our destination, the better." Aries asked switching the topic.

_'It would take couple month if we are travelling the way we are but if we take the road into Nevernever it would only take a day or two.'_ Meciel murmured.

"Do you think it's worth the risk?" Aries asked as he remembered the last time he travelled onto that mystical realm.

_'I don't know. We had the misfortune to cross path with the Winter Lady but we were quite lucky as she seemed to be in hurry.' _Meciel spoke with worry.

"Damn, that Maeve was sure hot. She was quite an eye-candy too." He chuckled.

_'Do not take her lightly. Despite her seductive look, she is a dangerous foe. She is cunning and very powerful. It would be the best if we didn't deal with her, Faes can't lie but they are notorious for getting mortals into a bargain while tricking them with technicality.'_ Meciel replied with sniff of disdain.

"Oh is someone feeling jealous? I know she's hot and all but don't worry Meciel, I would probably do you first if I had a choice between you two." Aries snickered.

With exasperated sigh, Meciel fondly regarded her host as Aries felt a throb of amusement from her. _'Please, I was a former archangel and I doubt any mortal beings could compare to me.'_ She drily replied.

"Uh huh, but Maeve is a Fae queen and she is also immortal. And unlike you, she was willing to let me squeeze her boobs. I would probably pay more attention to you if you'd let me do it." He quipped back.

_'Beloved, I only exist in your mind. I don't have a physical form.'_ She drawled.

"So? You could at least take off your top then prove to me yours are better. Maeve's boobs were rather big and gravity-defying if I remembered correctly." Aries sighed with satisfaction.

_'As much as I enjoy talking about your fantasies, we have a work to do.'_ Meciel continued with her dry tone while ignoring his statement.

"Fine, ruin my fun will you? Killjoy." Aries grumbled.

.oOo.

After getting dressed, Aries left the small motel he was currently living in and slipped into French counterpart to Britain's Diagon Alley. As always, the magical business district was busy with shoppers as parents and children purchased needed supplies for upcoming school year for Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.

_'No matter how many times I go into magical community, they always manage to impress me with their curious products. Although people could seriously do better without their ridiculous clothing. Muggles invented their clothes for a reason.'_ Aries idly thought.

Snorting at particularly ridiculous robes on an old lady that walked by, Aries took his time as he surveyed his surroundings. Unlike Diagon Alley he visited, its French counterpart had wider road to better allow people to move about without being squeezed together. He spotted few curious children around a toy shop but continued onward.

Making his way to his destination, he paused at the steps of Gringotts as he remembered the first time he visited the goblin's bank.

.oOo.

Flashback

2 years ago.

He had done it. He had killed the Dursleys. His mind was numb from what had happened half an hour ago and his eyes were wide but glazed with dead look in them. His hands still twitched from after-effect of rushing adrenaline. A small voice in the back of his mind whispered that he should feel horrified at what he had done; that he had murdered his so called relatives and committed a grievous sin. A thought struck him, he was now a killer. As realization dawned on him, Aries felt his knees grow weak and staggered to nearby bench. As he sat down with, his whole body began to shake as the shock finally started to sink in. He began to take deep breaths to calm himself.

_'Panicking will not help anything. I need to calm myself...'_ He thought.

He knew he should be ashamed of himself; that he should feel guilt and sorrow for his actions. But he couldn't bring himself to feel those emotions despite his attempts. Dursleys _hated_ him and abused him for as long as he could remember. The feeling was reciprocated and he couldn't bring himself to care whether they died or not. What confused and scared him the most was that he _liked_ it. He enjoyed the fact that it was _him_ who slaughtered them. The feeling of satisfaction and savage glee he felt upon achieving his vengeance was still fresh in his mind.

"Meciel." At his soft command, the Fallen angel appeared at the empty street while looking as serene as always. She seemed to glide toward him and he noticed that she did not look troubled in the least. Her silver and white dress clung to her body while her long, dark hair glittered against the fading light.

Sensing her host's discomfort, Meciel spoke to him _'What you just have done isn't a mindless slaughter. Yes, you killed them but ask yourself this: what would have happened if you didn't retaliate?' _Meciel asked in soft tone as he opened his eyes to meet her silver gaze.

_'Your uncle stabbed you for trying to defend yourself. Your cousin bullied you for your entire life at their house. Your aunt scorned and ridiculed you and forced you into slavery you didn't deserve.'_ Meciel reasoned with him.

_'Beloved, what you did was completely justified. They would have killed you sooner or later. If not, you would have slowly died in agonizing torture as you dealt with their abuse for the rest of your life... You needed to protect yourself and they deserved the punishment for their sins. __Besides, do not tell me that you did not enjoy taking your revenge and did not enjoy finally standing up for yourself against those bullies.__'_ Meciel finished quietly and caressed his blood-stained cheek with her soft, warm hand in an affectionate gesture.

"You are right. I did enjoy killing them. You changed me Meciel, I can feel it. The darkness and hellfire burn in my veins and I like it. I like the feeling of power it gives me." Aries spoke softly.

Before Meciel could respond, he cut her off. "But you were in control at the time not me. I do not like being manipulated no matter what. I will make one thing clear: I am in control and I will always be in control." He coldly snapped at her.

Meciel regarded him with inscrutable expression before nodding in acceptance with a small smile. _'Very well beloved. It shall be so.'_

"You will teach me magic and give me knowledge and make me powerful as you promised." He continued coldly.

_'As you command beloved.'_ Meciel whispered in his mind.

He stood up once again but there was a change in his appearance. No longer the weak, hesitant, little boy remained who was so unsure of himself and the world around him. The boy now had cold and determined look to him. His emerald eyes were dark and glinted with raging power inside him.

As he walked away, he mind wandered to the act of revenge he had taken against the Dursleys. He like it. He _reveled_ in it. The tables have turned. Now _he_ was the one in control. The feeling of powerlessness he had so despised was burned away as the dark fire of hell rushed through his veins.

No more would he be the one to run away in fear from others. No more would he be oppressed and bullied. He now had power, power unlike anything he had known. The power to forge his own destiny and destroy all those who stood in his way. The power of the Fallen angel. He was a Denarian.

God had abandoned him. Harry had waited for years for him, but he never came. No one came, in fact, because no one cared, he realized. They didn't care he was abused. They didn't care that he was slowly dying from abuse.

He was sick of waiting for others to rescue him. _He_ would rescue himself. Meciel was right, they were all alone in this world. Only Meciel cared for him. Only she loved him. She was his only hope. _She_ was his only _Salvation_.

_'If the cost of this power is my soul, then so be it. My life is already living Hell. There is nothing more to lose, in fact, I never had ANYTHING to lose. If I'm going to Hell anyway, then I might as well do something to earn it. God lost my faith and trust, so I will make my own destiny as I always should've.'_

Together, the boy and Fallen walked away, united and strong. Harry Potter had made his choice.

And thus died the little boy known as Harry James Potter. Who was abused and beaten all his life and from the ashes of his death something else arose. Reborn with vengeance and hardened with determination, he would stop at nothing to forge his own destiny. All those who stood in his path will be obliterated.

_'If the world had forsaken me, I will forsaken it in return. The day will come when I will grow stronger and stand at the top of the world. And ALL shall tremble before me.'_

.oOo.

1 year later...

Past year have been quite interesting experience for the new Denarian host. He had finally freed himself from the shackle that his relatives have placed on him and made his own way on the world. Scrapping for food, getting into fights with local thugs, and struggling for his survival.

"So you are saying that they have a magical alley hidden from the view?" Aries asked curiously

_'There were some Fallens who have taken wand-wizards as their hosts and I have gained great deal of knowledge from them. Assuming nothing had changed it should still be at the same place.'_ Meciel spoke.

"What was the name of the alley again?" Aries asked while scratching his head as he looked around for a store named _Leaky Cauldron_.

_**'**__Diagon Alley.' _Meciel whispered.

Currently, he was sporting blond hair with hazel eyes thanks to Meciel's illusion. His facial structure had changed as well so no one would recognize him. It would be best to show caution not show his true appearance. Now age of eight, Aries had grown taller but still remained scrawny due his life on the streets. He usually got through by stealing money from local gangs and occasionally drug lords, his innate magic and Meciel certainly gave him the edge he needed to survive on his own.

Other than that, he was quite surprised when Meciel told him that there was a foreign presence within him. Which turned out to be a part of someone else's soul. He could still remember that day clearly.

Flashback

_"What do you mean that there is a soul stuck in me!" Aries yelled in panic as he looked at Meciel._

_'I've been studying it for a while and it turned out to be a part of someone else's soul. It's apparently centered around your scar on forehead and it's feeding off of your magic.' Meciel said._

_"Well can you get rid of it? It's leeching off my magic! I don't want this thing!" Aries yelled fearfully while looking at Meciel._

_'I can sense a substantial amount of magic within the soul and I believe it has been inside of you for quite a while even before we met. Yet, you are still alive.' Meciel softly murmured._

_"Still, I really don't like the idea of something other than you inside my head. Can you get rid of it?" Aries asked hopefully, after he forcibly calmed himself down considerably._

_'Yes, I do believe so. But we can also try to absorb it, I believe it will increase your magical strength if you do so.' Meciel replied thoughtfully._

_"Absorb it? I can't say I like that idea. Although increasing my magic does sound good." Aries said while his eyebrows furrowed in indecision._

_'We won't be absorbing the soul itself but the magic within it.' Meciel softly calmed him down._

_"Absorbing the magic while destroying the soul? Then let's do it. The sooner we get this over with the better." Aries declared._

_'Close your eyes and reach deep into yourself. Embrace the hellfire and I will lead you to it.' Meciel whispered._

_Doing as he was instructed, Aries closed his eyes and reached deep within him as he embraced the hellfire as its pleasant sensation rushed through him. Meciel guided his mind to where the soul fragment was and he was confronted with a black smoke that hovered before his magical core. It was leeching off tendrils of magic from it._

_With a roar of rage, Aries slammed his power onto the black smoke and felt its resistance. It fought against him and attempted to overtake him but with hellfire burning in his veins and smell of sulphur in his nostrils along with terrible but majestic power of Meciel, he easily barreled over its defenses and began to draw magic from the soul fragment. He could feel its resistance but the fires of hell burned away its defenses._

_Before long, Aries ripped the last remains of magic from the black smoke as it withered and pulsed as if in pain. Finished with retrieving the magic, he felt Meciel lash out against it and watched with satisfaction as she burned away the smoke and destroy the soul fragment._

_Snapping his eyes open, Aries brought his hand to where his lightning scar was. He watched with wide eyes as thin trail of black smoke arose from his scar and disappear with a wail. Immediately, he could feel the rushing power along with pleasant tingle of hellfire as his magic was freed and incorporate the power he had managed to rip off from the soul fragment. He released the power of hellfire and slowly let out a sigh. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he felt more free._

Flashback Ends

As Meciel had promised, she began to teach him all that he needed to know. Spellings, grammar, history, mathematics, and science as well as his lessons on magic and occasional demon summoning. Despite their infernal nature, demons, as well as faes, were an excellent source of information as they were the watchers of the mortal world and he quickly learned his own family background as well as nature of the magical world and his status as the missing Potter child.

Apparently, he had a younger brother named Benjamin Potter who was just one year younger than him. He, along with Neville Longbottom, was hailed as the Boys-Who-Lived for defeating a Dark Lord named Voldemort of all things.

_'What kind of idiot names himself Voldemort of all things? It's so retarded beyond belief. The lack of reason and logic on magical people never ceases of amaze me.'_

With Meciel's guidance, he summoned few lesser demons and bartered information for whatever price they named, which usually turned out to be a someone's soul but he had drug lords, rapists and other criminals in abundance.

The Potters were quite rich and important family with lots of political power. For an unknown reason, he was sent to live with the Dursleys and demons suggested that to learn more, he visit Gringotts for information.

And so Aries found himself on the door to _Leaky Cauldron_. Changing his expression into neutral face, he entered the inn. Immediately the sound of chattering, laughter, and murmurs reached his ears as the customers sat and talked with each other while others simply sat down and enjoyed their food.

_'I believe the entrance to the Diagon Alley was near the back.'_ Meciel whispered.

Spying a family of four making their way to the back, Aries discreetly followed them and watched with fascination as the man tapped his weird stick, which turned out to be a wand, to the brick wall in certain sequence. The stones began to shift and soon revealed the Alley to him.

Quickly slipping through the opening, he turned his wide eyes and looked at the Diagon Alley for the first time. rows and rows of shops lined next to each other while a wide road laid out in the middle. People were all dressed in their robes and chattered away as they entered and exited the shops. He had done magic before, his wandless magic channeled by hellfire to reach their maximum potency and drew ritual circles to summon demons, but he never saw so many magic happen in one place before.

The each store sold something different, some sold cauldrons while others sold books. Clothing store stood next to a curious store that sold brooms while children were clustered in front of the window as they stared at them with awe and envy.

_'Beloved you should really close your mouth before you swallow a fly.'_ Meciel chuckled in his mind.

Closing his mouth shut, Aries turned to look at the building at the end of the Alley. It was a big building with granite stones for steps while thick pillars supported its large dome and a steady flow of witches and wizards entered and exited from it.

_'The wand-wizards call it Gringotts. It's ran by the goblin race and they can be rather dangerous enemy when threatened. They will be able to detect my presence so do be careful beloved.'_ Meciel warned him.

As he slowly began to walk up the stairs, he curiously gazed at the pair of armored goblin guards at the entrance. They were short, wrinkled with long, crooked nose and sharp teeth. Their beady eyes were alert as they scanned the passersby for any sign of danger.

As soon as he stepped inside the bank, he realized what Meciel had said was true. The goblins immediately stiffened and swiveled their eyes to him. The guards near the door shifted on their feet nervously while he could feel the wariness, anxiety, and bit of fear emitting from them. He took a deep breath and maintained his expression blank while drawing back his shoulders and straightening his back.

_'They are already wary of us. Be firm, but polite to them and things will go smoothly.' _Meciel advised.

He walked forward in slow but confident steps and could feel the eyes of goblins, especially the guards stationed around the room, following him intently as he made his way toward one of the goblins on the counter.

The goblin grimaced slightly as he felt the darkness surrounding the human child in front of him and shifted in his seat with wariness.

"I would like to open up new account please and exchange some of my muggle money into wizarding coins." Aries clearly stated while keeping his tone neutral.

"In order to open a new account you must have at least make a hundred galleon deposit." The goblin cautiously replied.

"How much would that be in terms of muggle money?" Aries asked while lifting his eyebrow.

"I would say few hundred Pounds." Said the goblin.

"Good, I do have couple thousand Pounds I would like to deposit." Aries nodded.

"Then please follow me." With that, the goblin stood up and proceeded to lead him to a small chamber where he sat down while pushing a bowl with a knife on it to him.

"It is a standard procedure to do a blood test when opening up an account as we will need your basic identity." Said the goblin as it sat down behind the desk while few guards remained near the door.

Grimacing at the request, Aries turned to Meciel. _'What do you think? You told me the importance of my blood and how it can be used in rituals to bind a person.'_

_'I do not like it but we don't have a choice if we are to open up an account. Just make sure to dispose of any droplets from the dagger and the bowl.'_ Meciel cautioned.

Nodding his head, Aries brought the dagger to his palm and made a small cut until few droplets of red liquid fell on the bowl before the wound on his palm healed instantly.

_'Must be due to the magic in this place...'_ He thought.

Wiping the small stain on the dagger with his shirt, he carefully made sure any droplets didn't land anywhere but the bowl before handing the items back to the goblin.

With a poof of smoke, a rolled parchment appeared inside the bowl. The goblin retrieved the parchment and his brows shot up in surprise before he turned his eyes toward him.

"I trust that my status will remain a secret?" Aries asked with a hint of steel in his voice.

The goblin snapped out of his surprise before nodding curtly. "I am not the right one for this business. You must talk with our chieftain, Director Ragnok."

Standing up once more, he led him along with guards, who were looking at him with caution, to large oval looking room where a goblin sat behind a large desk. The goblin who led him quickly went up to him before conversing in a strange language in fast pace.

_'It's called __Gobbledegook, the language of the Goblin race.'_ Meciel whispered in his mind as he felt her shift as she studied the office through his perception.

_'Can you understand it?'_ Aries curiously asked.

_'No, but I do know what it is based on its pronunciation.'_ Meciel replied.

The goblin who led him here immediately left after conversing with the one in charge although the guards remained. Turning his gaze on him, the goblin asked "I was told that you have a business with us Mr. Potter?"

He gave a small nod "Greetings, Director Ragnok." Aries politely replied.

"Greetings Mr. Potter. You are not what you seem to be." Director cautiously replied back.

Smirking, he nodded. "I'm merely here for business. No more, no less."

"Yes, you wanted to open up an account." Said Ragnok as he studied the parchment he was given before sliding it to him.

Curiously reaching for the parchment, he brought it up to read it.

_Name: Aries(Harry) James Potter_

_Age: 8_

_Birth Date: July 31st, 1991_

_Family: Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter_

_Parents: James Charles Potter - Father and Lillian Rose Potter nee Evans - Mother_

_Blood Relations: Benjamin Charles Potter (Brother), Petunia Dursley nee Evans (Aunt)- Deceased, Dudley Dursley (Cousin)- Deceased_

_Blood Status: Half-Blood_

_Magical Status: Wizard_

_Magical Core: High - may reach Mage level by magical maturity_

_Animagus Form: None_

_Special Abilities: Parsletongue and Parslemagic_

_Others: Soul-fragment removed_

_Trust vault for __Aries (__Harry__)__ James Potter._

_100__,__000 __G__alleons_

_50__,__000 __S__ickles_

_20__,__000 Knuts_

_To be capped off yearly,__ Aries'__ school tuition is to come out of this vault also._

Looking up from the parchment, he asked curiously. "Aries? That's my name? I was called Harry during my time in school."

"I believe Aries is your birth name. Harry was a nickname I think." Ragnok replied.

Aries smirked when he read Petunia Dursley and Dudley Dursley as deceased. _'They gave off such a lovely scream when I butchered them.'_ He thought.

"And what does it mean by Mage level?" Aries asked.

"All magical beings are categorized into different levels based on their magical strength. Muggles are the lowest, followed by squibs and then below average wizards and witches. Wizards and Witches are the most common class where the bulk of populations are since it is considered the average level. The level higher is called Sorcerer and Sorceress which are above average magic users. The elite levels are the Mage, followed by Archmage and then Warlock class, which is the highest." Ragnok explained.

"The only Warlock level being to have existed was the Merlin himself. The Hogwarts' Founders were somewhere around the Archmage level. Currently there are only few people in Archmage level in the world, Albus Dumbledore, the current Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is the most famous among them." Ragnok continued to explain.

_'You don't have an animagus form because of my influence. When you chose to accept me, I believe whatever animagus form you had was erased by the hellfire.'_ Meciel whispered.

_'Oh well, I would choose you over some animagus form any day Meciel. Besides, I believe my Bone Wyrm form beats the tar out of whatever my animagus form is anyway.'_ Aries replied back. Meciel simply chuckled.

Bringing his attention back to the parchment Aries asked. "I didn't know that I had a trust vault."

"Your trust vault was created on your birth and your parents gave small amount of their fortune to it every year. But with your disappearance, it stopped." Said Ragnok.

"And Parsletongue and Parslemagic?" Asked Aries.

"Parsletongue is the ability to speak to snakes. The recent Dark Lord and Salazar Slytherin were the only ones known to have this ability. Parslemagic is the magic performed with Parsletongue I believe."

Nodding, Aries said "I would like to create a new vault under a new name."

"I believe you know the requirements?" Ragnok asked.

Taking out a shrunken briefcase from his pocket, he expanded it back to its original size and opened it, revealing neatly stacked piles of muggle money.

"This would be more than suffice." Aries replied.

_'Those drug lords and criminals were certainly useful for one thing.'_ Meciel chuckled.

"And what will be your new name?" Asked the Director.

Frowning at the thought, he contemplated his options. "As far as I know, Harry James Potter is dead. He died when I became what I am today. I will keep the name Aries but I forsake the name Potter."

Ragnok raised his eyebrows. "You will renounce the name Potter?"

"My parents abandoned me and I see no reason to associate myself with them any longer. I will forge my own life with a new name." Said Aries with cold smile.

Aries pondered for a new name. It wasn't everyday that a person chose a new name for himself. He wanted a name that meant something to him.

_'Got any ideas Meciel? I need a name that will mean something to me.'_ Aries asked.

_'I doubt Voldemort will be a good middle name...'_ Meciel said dryly. _'How about... Estel? It is the closest mortal pronunciation for a word in Angelic tongue.'_

_'Estel? What does it mean?'_ He asked curiously.

_'It means hope in the language of Angels.'_ Meciel smiled slightly. _'You hoped for a new beginning and it will remind you of the hope you have for future you will create for yourself.'_

_'Hmm. A hope for the future. A future I will create with your help.'_ He pondered. _'Very well. Estel shall be my middle name and it will serve as a reminder for the contract we have formed. Hope for the better future we will create together.'_

_'And your last name?'_ Meciel asked.

_'Well... seeing as that I chose my middle name to remind me of the contract we made, I suppose I should choose my last name for your honor.'_ He thought with a wry smile.

_'And that would be?'_ Meciel said with small amusement.

_'Angelos. Greek word for Angel. Seeing as you are my guardian angel, I might as well change my name into Angelos for your honor.'_ He said with a slight smile.

_'You do know that I am no longer an angel right? I ceased being an angel long ago.'_ Said Meciel with softness.

_'Nah. You will always be an angel to me Meciel.'_ Aries replied.

Something ancient and unrecognizable flickered in her eyes as she gazed down at the small child carrying her presence but it was gone before he could discern what it was.

_'That is the most corny thing you said to me.'_ Meciel said with a laugh.

_'Still doesn't change the fact that you are my guardian angel.'_ Aries pointed out.

She gazed at him with soft smile and fondness. _'Very well then beloved. Angelos it is.'_

Snapping his eyes open he saw that the goblin was patiently waiting for his decision.

"Estel Angelos. My name will be Aries Estel Angelos." Aries said firmly.

"Also, I want it to be changed completely so that all records, especially my birth records, show as Aries Estel Angelos not Harry James Potter." He continued.

"In order to do that, we must contact the Department of Records and it's a rather long and difficult process." Ragnok commented.

"That's fine but I want this to be done secretly but legally. Take as much money you need from my vault." Said Aries.

"That concludes our business Director Ragnok. I believe this would remain confidential? Gringotts is rather infamous for its customer confidentiality..." Commented Aries idly.

"Of course Mr. Angelos. Good day to you wizard." Said Ragnok.

With one last smirk, the new Aries Estel Angelos strode out from the bank.

.oOo.

Aries was looking the down rows of pets while twirling his new wand between his fingers. After coming out from the bank he went to the _Ollivander's Wands_ and got his new wand, he bought some books before coming here. Surprisingly, he ended up with Holly and Phoenix wand that turned out to be the brother wand of the one wielded by Lord Voldemort of all things.

Under Meciel's advice, Aries quickly forced Ollivander to swear a magical oath to not reveal the nature of his wand since Ollivander said he had been expecting one of the Boys-Who-Lived, Benjamin Potter or Neville Longbottom, to take it. Although he was under a new disguise from Meciel's illusion earlier, he wasn't about to take any chances.

After retrieving his wands and rather interesting books, including two books written in scribblely language of Parsletougue, from seedy part of the Alley known as the Knockturn Alley, he came into this pet store and was looking at the rows of snakes.

_"Sss. Stupid humans, all they do is stare at us!"_

_"Come closer so that I may bite your head off!"_

_"Wait until-"_

After looking around to make sure no one was around him, Aries turned his head back to the snakes and hiss out a response, much to his surprise. _"Well, you guys have rather bad temper."_

_"A Speaker! You speak the ancient tongue of the serpents!"_ The snakes hissed back in surprise.

_"I just recently learned of my ability. I need someone who will teach me the ways of Parsletongue and its magic, Parslemagic."_ Aries hissed.

_"There hasn't been a Speaker since the one called Lord Voldemort. Come closer Speaker, I have been around the magical world and I can teach you what you seek."_ A voice hissed from the far end.

Walking toward the source of the voice, he looked inside the cage and saw a snake with glittering midnight scales. Its eyes were the color of golden topaz and was about three feet long.

_"What is your name snake?"_ Aries asked.

"_My name is Nightfang. I am a Diamondback, a magical species of snakes who are known for their deadly venoms and magically resistant skin. Get me out of here Speaker and I will share my knowledge of Parslemagic with you."_ It hissed at him.

Nodding, he opened the cage and watched cautiously as Nightfang slid onto his arm and wrapped itself around his shoulder loosely.

Walking to the counter, he scared off some customers with the deadly looking snake around his shoulder.

"I would like to buy this snake please." He calmly told the shop owner as he look at him with shock.

"O-Of course. It will cost 15 Galleons and here is the book on how to care for the snake. Do be careful with it." The shop keeper stammered out.

Handing over the money, Aries took the book before placing it inside his trunk along with his other books before walking out.

"Well Meciel, it looks like we found ourselves a new companion." Aries muttered.

_'Indeed my beloved Aries. Nightfang will certainly be useful in scaring off the thugs we usually deal with.'_ Meciel chuckled.

Looking down at the loosely coiled snake, Aries quietly hissed at it_. "Welcome to the club Nightfang. I believe this is the beginning of our beautiful friendship."_


	4. By Vengeance be Driven

**WARNING! THERE IS RATHER GRUESOME DEATH SCENE THIS CHAPTER! SO DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO!**

By Vengeance Be Driven

Aries shook himself out of the memory and went inside the bank. As expected the goblins immediately stiffened and looked at him with wariness and trepidation.

He quickly deposited the money and goods he had looted from those slave traders few nights ago into his vault and stretched.

'Well that takes care of it for today. Rest for now beloved. We have to journey into Nevernever once again tomorrow and you are going need your strength.' Meciel softly whispered.

Nodding his head in agreement, he rented a room in an inn and opened his shrunken trunk. After feeding Nightfang his food, Aries laid down to rest and his mind drifted onto the day when he first met Meciel and changed his destiny.

.oOo.

2 years ago...

Aries, or Harry Potter as he was then called, was standing on sidewalk as rain poured down from the sky, drenching his clothes while the droplets of water fell down his cheeks as it mixed with his tears. Dursleys have not been kind to him since his arrival. His cousin always bullied him at school and scared away any other kids who would form any sort of friendship with him, leaving him as a loner throughout the school years. He was constantly beaten by fat, lump of flesh that was his uncle while his horse-faced, long-necked aunt belittled him and slapped him if he showed any form of emotions while telling him that freak like him was probably up to something for just smiling.

He couldn't understand just _how_ he was related to these abusive and horrible people. He had always wondered how his parents looked like and why they had sent him here. Only response he got whenever he asked was "Your parents didn't want you so they dropped you here." or "Don't ask questions."

He had always dreamed of the day when his parents would realized their mistake and show up on the doorstep to take him away from his aunt and uncle but they never showed up. They never even dropped by to acknowledge him or send him birthday cards. He never even knew how they looked like.

_'God must hate me to make me related to them. Although I'm not that surprised that my mother is related to that horse-faced woman. She's just as terrible as her if she abandoned me to this fate.' _He thought gloomily.

Just few moments ago, Dudley had pushed him down the puddle of water while he ran off laughing at his misfortune. He quickly loaded into the bus and it took off since the driver was unable to see him. Thus he was standing on the sidewalk while rain poured down onto him. His uncle would no doubt learn that he tardiness and beat him again.

With tears streaming down his face with rain, he turned his face toward the heaven and prayed. _'Please God, I prayed and prayed yet you never answered. Why must you make me suffer so? What have I done to you or anyone? I never did anything wrong. Just for this once don't let them hurt me.'_

Yet, no answer came but the intensifying of downpour. Sighing as he opened his eyes, Aries began to walk toward his so-called home. His eyes had glossy and lifeless look to them as he imagined other beating that he would undoubtedly receive once he got home. Suddenly it became too much to bear, he didn't want to get beaten anymore. Ever since he was barely enough to understand speech, he was subjected into child labor. Aunt Petunia forced him to do chores around the house while his cousin spent his days lazing around the house while his uncle beat him for all the little things he did.

Now age of seven, Harry was not treated with love and care as Albus Dumbledore had hoped. Upon his arrival at Privet Drive, he was immediately treated with hostility, loathing, and hatred. After his fifth birthday, Harry was given a list of chores to finish around the house and his beating grew steadily worse as he grew older. Dursleys rarely needed a reason to beat him. He would get beaten if he did better or worse than Dudley in school work. He would get beaten whenever he let out a cry of pain, scowl or even whimper during beating. He was slapped when he smiled because his aunt said freak like him could be only be up to no good when he smiled.

Looking down at his chest, a glint of light caught his eyes. With shaking hands, he brought out a small, golden cross that hung around his neck in cord. A priest had given this to him on his first visit to the Church and since then, it was probably his only thing that was truly his own. The priest always said that the God was merciful and loving father who listened to his children, so whenever Aries was in pain(which was very frequent) he prayed while clutching this symbol of faith as he quietly begged to him for help. Despite his years of silent prayers and begging, God never answered him, not even once.

Sudden anger coursed through his body. His entire body began to shake with sobs as his emerald green eyes alighted with fury. With snarl of hatred and fury, he grabbed the golden cross and yanked it with all his might, snapping the cord that held it around his neck and hurled it at the muddy ground.

He glared balefully at it. "I always asked for your help. I always went to the Church every Sunday no matter what over the years. Your house was my only sanctuary from the Dursleys other than the library. No matter what I did, you never answered. You didn't raise a finger to help me. You must truly hate me to make me live in this living hell." Aries muttered as hot tears ran down his cheek along with raindrops.

"But I want you to know, I hate you just as much. I will never again ask for your help. I am done waiting for the help that will never come." Aries said angrily. With deep, shuttering breath he turned away from his now discarded cross.

Deciding to take the abandoned parking lot for short cut he began to walk. Rain splattered onto the ground as he made his way through the abandoned structure. Pausing at the center of the parking lot he looked around, the lights were out without electricity and storm clouds above blocked sunlight from shining on the earth below as rain poured down.

Sighing, he turned and was about to start walking again when he was slammed onto his side. The force of impact sent him flying before he slammed down onto the ground. Aries cried out in shock and pain as he landed on the ground, his eyes swam with tears but he forcibly held them back. Grunting as pain laced through his body, he got up and turned his eyes to see what had slammed into him.

It turned out to be a man. He was tall man with broad shoulders and bright, winter blue eyes that burned with power. His face was ashen and grim as he stared down at him with unnerving intensity. He was dressed in black trench coat and he held a menacing looking sword on his right hand while his left hand clutched something to his chest as if he held his own soul in his hand. His clothes were torn, burnt and was drenched in his blood, if spots of redness was anything to judge by.

Aries took a frightened step back as he regarded the man with wide eyes. He was staring at him and seemed almost unsure of himself as he struggled for a decision. Then his eyes hardened as he decided on his course of action. Briefly sheathing his sword, he lashed out with his right hand before grabbing his hand and dragging toward him. Aries let a startled yelp and began to struggle against the man's iron hard grip. Then he removed his clenched left hand and pressed something onto his palm.

"Here take this and guard it well." The man gruffly instructed.

As soon as that something pressed on to his palm, Aries began to scream as something resembling hot lava poured into his veins. Its burning sensation tore through his nerves and he flayed and kicked with all his might to cease the pain but man grasped his hand with his grip and look on with fiery eyes. When the pain stopped he panted as his eyes watered with pain.

"Remember what I have said. Now take it and RUN!" With a yell, the man roughly brought him to his feet and pushed him away from him. Aries jerked into action as he stumbled onto his feet before turning around and running as fast as he could to his home.

The man watched him go with wide eyes as he couldn't believe what he had just done. Casting a fearful look at the direction he came from he grimaced before running as the kid had done moments ago.

Aries never saw him again.

.oOo.

Immediately arriving at Number Four Privet Drive, Aries opened the door before slamming it shut and locking the door. He panted with exhaustion as he remembered what the strange man had done. Opening his palm he saw small, silver coin size of a quarter that gleamed against the light. An image of solemn looking woman peered up at him, it didn't look like the image of Queen. Turning over the silver coin, he examined a curious symbol of a sword facing downward with two lightning bolts to its side. The sword and lightning bolts was surrounded by a large bird-like wings. This was what the man had given him, it was a strange coin but there was something about that had him instantly hooked. His examination was cut by a loud voice.

"Freak! Where have you been? You come in late and now you are splattering mud all around!" Shouted Vernon Dursley.

Ignoring his stuttered reply, the large man lumbered forward before grabbing him with his meaty hand and slamming against the wall with a yell "You Freak! I don't care for your stupid excuse!"

With that, he began to beat his nephew with his big, meaty fists. Drawn by Aries' cry of pain, Dudley Dursley poked his head from the corner and watch with glee as his dad beat his worthless cousin. "Go get him dad!" Dudley cackled. Upon noticing his son, Vernon halted his fist from smashing into Aries' face and grunted "Beat the freak Dudley, he needs to learn stealing from me will result in severe consequences." Grinning evilly, Dudley Dursley began to pummel his cousin just as his father had done mere moments ago.

Aries curled into fetal position with his arms protecting his heads against his cousin's blows. He did not understand why he was treated the way he did and could not help but grow angry against them. Angry against the God, who had never once helped him. Angry against the world that had utterly abandoned him. His eyes, once squeezed shut, snapped open and glowed with power as he thrust his arms outward with loud yell. "No! Stop!"

Power fueled inside him as magic lashed out against Dudley who was about to stomp him painfully with his foot and blasted him across the hallway. Dudley gave a scream of surprise and pain as he heavily landed on the ground and began to wail for his parents. "Mo-Mom, Da-Dad! He just used his freaky ability on me!"

Hearing his distraught son's voice, Vernon Dursley waddled to where they were and his faced quickly turned into shade of purple in anger once more.

"You stupid freak! How dare you use _IT_ against Dudley!" Red haze of fury descended on his vision and with roar of rage, Vernon grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed his nephew with it and Harry felt it burst one of his lungs.

Aries gave a loud cry of pain as he was stabbed and his uncle pulled out the knife.

"Look at what you made me do Freak!" Vernon Dursley shouted in rage. If the child died he and his family could land in jail. The sensible thing would be to take him to hospital but he didn't feel like wasting his money on his freak of nephew. Gritting his teeth he snarled at him "You better heal up and clean up the mess you made!"

Grabbing the back of his neck, he threw Aries into the cupboard he slept in and locked the door. As Aries lay on his worn out bed mattress, he could feel blood seep from the wound between his fingers. He began to cough up blood as his body naturally tried to protect itself from dying as blood began to seep into his lung. As he struggled to remain conscious while clutching his wound to stop the life-fluid from leaving his body, Aries' vision began to flicker as the edge of his sight started to turn grey.

_'So this is the end...'_ With that last thought, Aries's consciousness faded into oblivion.

.oOo.

When Aries opened his eyes, he was surrounded by light and pleasant feeling of cool grass on his back. Getting up, he took in his surroundings. _'Am I dead? Is this what Heaven is like?'_ He wondered.

"I see you are awake." Soft, melodious voice spoke from behind him.

Whirling around to face the speaker, Aries let a gasp. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen was standing before him. She had a waist length dark hair and seemed to glitter in the sunlight and she was dressed in white and silver dress that hugged her large but proportional-to-body- breasts and lean waist and slightly wide hips. Her dress fluttered with her gentle movements and cuts on the skirt that reached up to her upper thighs revealed smooth, long legs that reminded him of a dancer. But it was her eyes that truly stood out, they were a glorious pair of silver that shone like brilliant stars to his seven year old imagination. Her large, almond shaped eyes regarded with affection and fondness that no one else that regarded him with. It was a strange, alien feeling to be seen without scorn, ridicule and hatred but he found himself liking it.

"Am-Am I dead?" He felt himself gaping for few moments before stuttering out.

"No, this is inside your mind. I created this scenery to put you at ease." The goddess in front of him replied.

"A-Are you an angel?" He asked curiously.

She smiled but there was a small bitterness to it "My name is Meciel and yes and no. I _was_ once an angel." She said in her musical voice.

At his surprised expression, Meciel softly explained "I was once was one of the twelve archangels of the Heaven and a servant of God. Eons ago, race of man walked side by side with the angelic host of the Heaven and all was well. Then with passing of time, some mortals and angels fell in love with each other and produced offspring. A hybrid, between a mortal and an immortal. God saw this as a transgression and sacrilege and ordered their execution. I, along with other angels, was tasked with exterminating them. However, as I was about to strike them down with blazing sword in my hands, I couldn't bring myself to kill them. I couldn't kill the young for the sins of its parents, if it were a sin at all. Witnessing this, God threw me out of the paradise and exiled me into the Void as my punishment. Alone in the darkness, without anyone to help me, quite like how your life is like. This is my punishment, which is the punishment for most angels He has banished. People came to know as the Fallen angels and we are alone in the darkness. We have only one thing that grants us hope. One thing that stills ties us to the mortal world."

With that, Meciel turned her silver gaze on to his hand, which was clutching something. Opening his hand, he saw the silver coin lying on his palm. Cautiously taking the coin between his fingers, he saw the emblem on the back of the coin was branded on the center of his palm.

"That coin is one of the thirty pieces of silver coins that Judas of twelve disciples received from the chief of Sanhedrin priests when he betrayed Jesus Christ. Onto each coin, a Fallen angel is sealed inside of it." Meciel explained.

"By picking up the coin, we are allowed to communicate with that single human and experience the joy of light once again. In return for pulling us out of the Void, we can offer you our eons of knowledge, experiences and powers to aid this human whenever he or she needs it." Meciel crouched to his eye level and gazed into his emerald green eyes. "I can help you."

"How?" Aries whispered while his mind furiously tried to process this new development.

"I have seen your life. I have seen your suffering. I know that you prayed for an escape from your life and I can offer it to you and many more. I can protect you from your abusive family and all those who would wish you harm. I can teach you how to become a powerful man so that you may forge your own destiny. I can teach you my eons of knowledge and experiences, knowledge and skills that have been lost in the sands of time and make your enemies tremble before you. I can guide you through the darkness of this world and aid you whenever you are in need of help." Meciel's soft voice whipsered intensely as her silver eyes met his emerald eyes.

"You saw me get beaten?" Aries asked as he shifted his eyes in shame.

"I experience everything that you feel. Your sight, smell, hearing, taste, and feel. I share everything that you experience." Meciel softly spoke. "In return I offer you my wisdom, experience and power."

Her eyes still regarded him with fondness and affection despite his refusing to meet her eyes.

"Do not feel ashamed Harry. You had no control over no had happened to you. There is no shame being a victim of the cruelty of your relatives. The world is a harsh place, full of suffering and agony. Allow me to help you and I'll protect you from harm and make you powerful so that you may never suffer again." Meciel whispered intently.

He hesitated. He wanted to accept her offer desperately. She offered him everything he wanted and more. She had treated him with respect and affection that he never received. He always craved for human affection but was given none and had eventually had given up hope but this kind and beautiful angel, or former angel, offered him what he always wanted. However, the Church taught him that if he accepted her help, his soul wouldn't be accepted into the paradise and cast into the burning pits of Hell.

"Beloved, God never heard your pleas. You prayed and prayed for his help and mercy but He never even once lifted His finger to help you. He has forsaken you. He abandoned you. He doesn't care if you suffer and despair. He doesn't care about you. Why do you still cling on to Him when he abandoned you in your greatest hour of need?" Meciel softly continued.

He recoiled with each word. His small frame shaking as he struggled to contain himself. He desperately wanted to deny it, his heart denied what his mind clearly saw as cold truth. He prayed every time his uncle beat him for all the small things he did, he prayed whenever his aunt forced him into cupboard and do all the chores, he prayed when Dudley bullied him and beat him every day. Throughout it all, he prayed but God never listened.

Aries pulled off his fragile glasses held together by mere piece of tape and contemplated his options while examining the glasses . On one hand, if he accepted Meciel's help he would gain power and strength to protect himself from his so-called-relatives but his soul would burn in the depth of fiery Hell for who knows how long. On the other hand, if he refused he would be stuck in the same situation. Going through abuse and pain every day of his life and never break free from the cruel fate that had been handed down to him.

Living in the hell hole that is Dursley's home, Harry had quickly learned to be sly, cunning and most of all trust no one but himself. He learned to pick locks to escape the cupboard during the nights when he was hungry to steal food while his uncle and aunt slept. He was forced to outthink and outmaneuver Dudley from beating him at school. Whenever he asked others for help, they ignored him and allowed him to suffer at the hands of Dursleys.

Could he really trust the words of the Fallen? She, like him, was all alone in this world and suffered because of God. But what if she betrayed him?

He was so lost in his thoughts that he only noticed his surroundings once more when the glasses he had been turning around broke under his hands from slight pressure. Startled he watched with blurry vision as the glasses fell to the grass below.

Sensing her host's distress Meciel quietly spoke "Beloved, with your permission I can heal your sight and restore it to perfect vision, although it would probably be painful." At Aries' surprised yet curious look, she repeated her earlier statement softly.

"I can give you power unbelievable and protect you from anyone who wishes you harm. I will give you my eons of knowledge and guide you through the darkness that is this world. And lastly, I can give you what you need to change your destiny and create your own future." With that Meciel silver eyes stared into Aries' emerald green eyes as his eyes flickered with indecision.

"We are all alone in this world. We both have no one who cares for us. They do not care if we suffer or not. No one cares but I care. I feel your misery and despair. I care that you are all alone in this world. We are so much alike. We are the same." Meciel whispered intently.

She held out her hand. Her slightly pale alabaster skin glowed with her innate power and her slender hands were facing upward. "Take my hand Harry. Let me help you. Let us be strong together and never endure the void alone ever again."

_'There is nothing for me to lose. It is a risk I am willing to take. My life is already living hell and I doubt it could get any worse.'_ With that last thought, Aries took a deep breath and reached out with his own small hands before grasping hers.

Her hand was warm and soft as he imagined. As these thoughts reached his brain, the same feeling when his hand first enclosed around the silver coin rushed through him. The burning sensation poured into him like hot lava and he could feel the heat, the darkness, and most of all, the vast power as it flowed into him from the angelic figure in front of him. It travelled throughout his body and he screamed as he felt foreign power burn behind his eyes, liquefying and reconstructing his eyes as it attempted to correct his vision.

He swiveled his gazed from their clasped hands to Meciel. She was regarding him with intensity as her silver eyes burned brightly. The garden around him was burned away like a mirage as intense heat surrounded him. He could smell the intoxicating fume of sulphur and brimstone as the hellish flame and swirling darkness danced around him. The pain was too much and he tried to tug his hand away from Meciel's iron-hard grip but fought to no avail. As the power and heat burned through his body, he felt his eyes roll up to the back of his head as he lost consciousness once more.

"You will become more than what you once was." Meciel murmured.

.oOo.

Aries slowly opened his eyes as his consciousness emerged from the oblivion. He groaned as he tried to sit up and succeeded despite the stiffness of his muscles. The area around his chest felt particularly stiff. Tracing his hand around his chest, he tried to relieve some discomfort. He stiffened as he remembered everything that had happened. His uncle had stabbed him and thrown him inside the cupboard before he lost his conscious and met Meciel.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness around them, Harry fumbled around with his hands to find his glasses out of pure habit. Once he found what he was looking for, Harry slid the tape-held-glasses on to his face but immediately squeezed his eyes shut as it became blurry and took off his glasses. Reopening his eyes, he realized he could see much better without his glasses. He tried his glasses on and off to really check if his vision was healed and realized Meciel truly had fixed his vision as she promised.

Feeling a small object pressed onto his right palm, he brought it up against the small crack which light shone through. He had managed to hold onto his coin throughout whole ordeal.

"Meciel?" Aries whispered.

_'I am with you my beloved.'_ A soft, feminine voice whispered in his mind. _'As I promised, I have healed your vision and your body. It was a good thing that you accepted, as we talked in your mind you were hovering between the line of life and death. Should you have rejected, you would've died from your wound as the injury sustained by the knife was too much even for your magic.'_

Looking around his cupboard, Aries tried to determine where the voice was coming from.

_'I exist only in your mind as I do not have a physical body.'_ Meciel whispered.

In a soft flash of light, Meciel appeared next to him while looking around the cupboard with disgust and disdain. _'I can appear next to you if I want, although it is but an illusion.'_

Reaching out with her soft hands, she stroked his cheek. Aries instinctively leaned onto her touch.

"Can others see you also?" He curiously asked.

_'No, I am an illusion that only you can see. Others will see nothing but emptiness where I am will only see you talking to yourself.'_ Meciel spoke.

"How long have I been out?" Harry asked curiously.

_'I do not know the exact time frame but I would guess to be around a day and a half.' _Meciel replied.

Still feeling Meciel stroking his cheeks, he asked "Are you making me feel that?"

_'Yes, although there is nothing I can confuse your nerve ending to feel as if I am touching you.' _Meciel replied.

"What now?" Aries asked.

_'I promised to protect you and I will do as I said.'_ She whispered. Looking deep into his eyes, Meciel's silver gaze examined him. _'I can sense your potential. Your magic is that of a wand-wizard and we shall work to bring out those power.'_

Aries looked at her with curiosity and was about to ask what she meant when something flickered on the corner of his vision. Turning his head toward the source of flicker, he frowned as he saw nothing but could sense something underlying beneath the surface of his sight.

Meciel watched him carefully and raised an eyebrow. _'You have a Third Sight, a Wizard Sight.'_ At his questioning glance, Meciel explained _'It is the ability to see beyond the physical world, to see into the depth of emotion, magic and so forth. Only few wand-wizards are able to use this gift and many go insane from it. If you see something with your Third Sight, it will permanently etch it into your memory and you will remember it forever, to every last detail.' _

_'With your permission, I will activate it for you next time you see the flicker. After that, you will be able to turn it on and off at your will.'_ Meciel said.

Aries nodded and waited until he saw the flicker. He could feel the curious sensation behind his eyes and closed them when he felt slight itch and slowly open his eyes using the Third Sight. The sight that greeted him made him instinctively recoil back in terror as scream made past his trembling lips.

It was as if he was looking at the world for the first time after years of being blind. His entire being was memorizing the world around him with not just sight but also hearing, smell, taste and feeling. Instead of being greeted with awe inspiring sight, he beheld monstrosity. The cupboard he lived in was a twisted, hellish hole. The trees that were used to make the cupboard were twisted and burned with spectral flames and they twisted and turned with agony and despair and he could hear the flicker of the flames. Smell of burning invaded his nose while his mouth tasted ashes. The dark shadows surrounded him as he felt the despair and pain that had accumulated in this place suffocate him.

This place was alive with misery, pain and despair he had felt throughout the years. With his Third Sight, these emotions were visible to him in indescribable ways. Misery and pain of this place burned into his mind as it memorized just where he had been living in for past years. Amongst the fear and loneliness that pervaded this cupboard, anger and hatred swirled around him, igniting his unholy bloodlust in his veins. He saw the past, present, and future in this cupboard as he saw every memory he spent in this hellhole.

He saw the ghostly figure of himself crying in pain and despair, praying in desperate hopes, and hours he spent looking up at the blankness with glazed and lifeless look on his eyes.

It became too much and he couldn't bear to spend another second here. Crouching away from the door, he jumped toward the door with all his might and slammed it open with his shoulder. The locks placed on it fell apart as he blasted the door open off its hinges with his demonic strength.

Gasping for breath, he turned as Vernon Dursley came into the hallway, his face was scrunched up in irritation at whatever his worthless nephew had created.

The sickly, darkness surrounded him. It clung to his skin with dark emotions. Irritation, disgust, abhorrence, hatred and malevolence all surrounded him and at the moment, they were all aimed at him.

"You stupid freak! Now you decide to break down the cupboard door! I've had enough of you!" Shouting out his anger, Vernon charged forward.

Frightened by the true sight of Vernon and his physical manifestation of his hatred and that he was in for another severe beating, Aries cried out to Meciel in terror.

_'Meciel! Help me! He is going to kill me!'_ Aries cried out to her.

_'I am with you beloved. Take my power and defend yourself!'_ Meciel

He felt physically sick of being pushed around, so sick of cowering from others, sick of running away from bullies as they tried to beat him up. His patience and endurance had long since ran out.

As the dark power flooded his veins he let a cold laughter at him. He could smell the sulphur and burning brimstone in his nostrils. Power unlike anything he had felt rushed through him. He could feel it saturating his body before it began to change into something powerful. Something terrifying. He roared at his uncle as he toward over him while he stood frozen in fear.

_'Never again! Never again will I be subjected to the mercy of others!'_ Aries snarled mentally.

Taking a single step forward, Aries closed his fist and punched his pathetic excuse of an uncle in his face and sent him through the kitchen and onto the living room where his skinny, long-necked, horse-faced aunt let out terrified shriek while fat lump of flesh called Dudley let out a startled yelp. Dark powers surged through his veins and Aries never felt so alive before. Tingling with intoxicating pleasure accompanied by rushing power, he followed his fallen uncle into the living with his thick, muscular legs.

**Violence Warning! Don't read if you can't take it!**

Petunia let out more terrified screams as she beheld his demon-turned-nephew and Dudley began to cry in terror while Vernon clutched his ruined face while backing away from him with expression of shock and horror. As Aries drew himself up to his full height, he enjoyed the feeling of fear he invoked on his aunt, uncle and cousin. With his tingling demonic/magical senses he could feel their terror leech from them and it further served to heighten his pleasure. No more would he be the one to cower in fear! It was time to take his revenge and make them suffer for what they had done to him!

Letting out a dark rumble that resemble a sinister laughter on a human, Aries snatched his cousin by his leg and dragged him toward his doom while enjoying the pleas and whimper his guardians made. He sneered as he mentally snarled at them _'Not fun when it's you on the receiving end does it?_' Aries drew back his fists and began to pummel Dudley with savage glee as he let out a dark chuckle as fists connected with his cousin's body and face again and again.

Memories of how Dudley used to bully him flashed through his mind. He remember his taunts, his insults, and his beatings. With final roar Aries crashed his fist against his cousin's face and felt the bones crack under the impact and realized he had passed out it the final punch. _'Oooh no! There is no way I'll let you get off that easily! No, all of you will remain conscious and feel the pain as I deal out your punishments!_' With that he began to concentrate and reached out with his magic to his relatives. Within few seconds, Dudley moaned as he was forcibly brought back to the waking world by Aries' magic and immediately cried out in his pain as he realized his facial bone was broken.

Satisfied, he gripped Dudley at the back of his neck and lifted him toward other two so he may face his parents and sneered at them. "Now watch as I rip apart your precious Diddykins before your eyes!" He snarled with his deep, ominous, demonic-enhanced-voice. With that he began to ripped apart Dudley's arms, followed by his legs every five minutes so he could draw out their pain. After dispatching his cousin by ripping apart Dudley's limbs one by one, Aries turned to tear-streaked, horse-faced aunt.

Laughing darkly, he grabbed her by the face and proceeded to smash her head against the wall repeatedly until her skull was completely carved in. He remembered her annoyingly high pitched voice, her slaps and ridicules as she belittled him at every opportunity. _'The bitch finally paid her price for 5 years of torture she put me through._' With that thought, Aries squeezed his hand and heard a satisfying CRACK and carelessly tossed away her body like a rag-doll.

And so, Aries turned to the final and worst of the Dursleys: Vernon Dursley. He was one who abused him the most. For as long as he could remember being in this house, Vernon Dursley had beaten him to near death quite few times and now it was payback time. Extending his claws, he began to maul him while listening to his pained scream as blood splattered on to him. With every punches, slashes, and kicks, Aries let out his years-worth of accumulated frustration, anger, and hatred at the whale of his uncle.

Finally, Aries grabbed him by his neck the slammed him against the wall. Thanks to his magic, Petunia and Dudley remained conscious until their painful end and Vernon would be no different.

"Mo-Monster. Ho-How could-" "My... my family." He sobbed. For the first time Aries remembered, Vernon Dursley, the bane of his existence, wept in front of him and it filled him with savage glee and dark, icy laughter tore its way through Aries' lips as he began to laugh hysterically in his deep, rumbling voice.

"You reap what you have sown Vernon Dursley. Blood for blood. Debt for debt. And evil for evil." With that, he reached deep within himself to his pool of potent energy and summoned the hellfire and watched it consume his screaming uncle. Fire jutted out from his eyes, nostrils, ears and opened his screaming mouth as he was burnt alive by the fires of Hell.

When he finally grew still, he let out a victorious roar and his demonic power, which had been shimmering just beneath the surface throughout the whole ordeal, exploded outward in blazing inferno of hellfire.

**Violence Ends**

**Whew! This was a long chapter and quite intense. For the record, I'm a Christian so writing about how God had abandoned Aries was kinda like a heresy to me. He DOES care for the people but for the sake of this story, I decided to write it like that.**


	5. Into the Nevernever

Into the Nevernever

Aries sneezed once more as he walked through the snow. He had been walking in this frozen ice land for nearly an hour. Everything about this place was hauntingly beautiful. The sky above twinkled with millions of stars and brilliant display of aurora blanketed the entire heaven and reflected its light on the lakes below. The moon shone brightly and illuminated the ground below as the ice reflected the silver glow of the moon.

Currently he was trudging through the forest of ice. Pine trees were almost frozen solid and the ground below was covered in snow. It was eerily silent without any sound what so ever except his feet. There were no animals, chirps of birds or even occasional rustling of plants.

"I thought you said that the cold will be bearable. Yea right, bearable my ass." Aries grumbled.

He was dressed in thick clothes in order to ward off the cold but the snowstorm raging around him was not exactly helping him.

The sudden rush of heat made him sigh in small content. Meciel materialized next to him as she looked around her. Her silver and white dress shone as always and she looked unconcerned by the cold.

_'I can comfort you to some level but it is only an illusion. Your body is still feeling the cold but I have redirected your nerves to feel more warmth.'_ Said Meciel.

"Why is it that every time I come into Nevernever, there is a fucking snowstorm?" Grunted Aries.

_'Technically, you've only travelled into Nevernever twice, including this one.'_ Chuckled Meciel.

"The last time we came here, we ended up meeting Maeve. Do you think we'll see her again?" Asked Aries, half with dread and other half with hope.

_'Oh is someone having a crush on the Lady of the Winter?'_ Meciel teased him.

"I don't have a crush on her!" Aries stubbornly replied.

_'You seem to be rather anxious to meet her...'_ Meciel said drily.

"There was also the damned snowstorm when I met her last time." Snorted Aries.

Meciel frowned. _'You are right. Her power in this realm is absolute other than the Queen and snowstorm accompanies her wherever she travels.'_

Aries still remembered the first time he saw the Winter Lady. She was easily as beautiful as Meciel and had rather seductive aura around her. The Fae glamour she wore was very pleasingly intoxicating and much stronger than the infamous Veela allure. She had playfully and seductively asked him if he wanted to squeeze her boobs and...

Meciel's pleasant, tinkling laughter interrupted his train of thought_. 'Boys grow up sooo fast when they have a crush on the immortal Faerie Lady of Winter.'_

Aries could feel his cheek blush with heat and swallowed his rather dry throat. He decided to tease her back.

"You know Meciel, I would say you feel jealous of Maeve cause I almost drooled at her. She did let me squeeze her boobs you know..." Aries grinned as he remembered that particular incident.

"They were so big and soft too..." He sighed wistfully.

_'You were lucky that she was in a hurry and did not demand any price for it.'_ Meciel sniffed.

"You don't seem to like her that much. Any reason for it? Except for the fact that she's as hot as you and let me touch her boobs and take my attention away?" Aries sniggered as he looked at her.

_'She is part of the reason why my previous host died. Not the main one, but part of it. We had our dealings in the past and she loves to make bargains with mortals that end up badly for them.'_ Cautioned Meciel.

"Your previous host? Isn't he the one that knocked me flying and gave me the coin?" Aries asked.

_'His name was James Crestfall and was a ex-kick boxer. He was unemployed when he picked up my coin and he had a misfortune to piss off a High Sidhe of the Winter Court, probably Maeve, by consorting with several Summer Fairies. We were running away from Nicodemus and The Order of Blackened Denarius when we bumped into you. He knew that he couldn't outrun him so he gave my coin to you in order to protect me from his clutches.'_ Meciel sadly murmured

"If you don't like her so much then why do we travel through the Winter territory? Why not just take the Summer territory or other paths?" Asked Aries.

Unlike the Winter Faes, who were cold, ruthless, and merciless, the Summer Faes were much nicer, for the lack of better term, compared to their Winter counter parts. Whereas the Winter Faes represented everything about the Winter, Summer Faes represented everything about the Summer. They had more care free disposition and gentle manners than the unforgiving Winter Faes. They were more "light" oriented, although Faes were very different from humans and made dangerous bargains with mortals. The Summer Court and the Winter Court were the opposite and rivals and often quarreled with each other for more power and control.

_'The season in the mortal world is winter right now, therefore, the Winter territory is much closer to the mortal world than the Summer territory. Nevernever is a mystical realm that is the home to everything that doesn't belong in the mortal world, like a parallel dimension. The territories controlled by immortal Sidhes are the closest to the mortal world than any other territories and I often used it as a shortcut. It is most hospitable for mortal travelers and deepest part of Nevernever is where most powerful demons and other creatures of evil and temptation resides. In these places, necessities such as air is limited and you wouldn't even make it half way. In a way, you could say that Nevernever is a gateway between the mortal world and the realm of Heaven and Hell.'_ Said Meciel.

Aries mused over what Meciel said. The part about Nevernever being somewhat linked to Hell and Heaven was startling and not exactly pleasant.

"Is there any other reason for being here?" Aries asked after a moment of thought.

_'I am also hoping to find a better material for your new wand.' _ Said Meciel as her gaze shifted to his wand, which was tucked in the wand holster in his elbow.

"Better material? What do you mean?" Aries questioned.

_'Your wand is insufficient for our use.'_ Meciel stated simply.

Frowning at her comment, he took out the wand from its holster and closely examined it. It's been nearly a year since his trip to the Diagon Alley and purchased his wand along with Nightfang. Since then, he had engraved various runes of hellfire onto his wand with Meciel's guidance in order to maximize the power of spells he cast with the hellfire. However, he also had to engrave strengthening rune onto it as well so that the wand wouldn't explode or be damaged from the spells he cast. The strengthening rune stabilized his wand but it dampened the potency of his spell.

_'Wands are designed to channel the magic within you and draw it out from your magical core. However, you are not exactly a normal wand-wizard. You are a Denarian and use magic of hellfire and other powers I will teach you later on and they are far too powerful for your Holly and Phoenix feather wand to contain it. Your wand is simply not enough to channel the power of immortal beings like me. The wood may be excellent conductor to contain various magical cores that wand crafters make but they are far too fragile and wear out with time. In order to maximize your potential, we need a new material for our new wand as well as more powerful magical core.'_ Explained Meciel.

"And just what materials do we need other than wood? Even if we get the necessary materials, how are we going to make a new wand unless we specifically contact a wand crafter?" Aries asked curiously.

_'I have some ideas and as for crafting our new wand, we will make it ourselves. During your visit to Ollivander's Wands, I was able to glean quite few knowledge from him that could be useful in crafting our own wand.'_ Said Meciel.

"And you believe that whatever material we need can be found in Nevernever?" Asked Aries.

_'Yes.'_ Whispered Meciel.

"Great, so I simply wandering this frozen wasteland for some material in middle of freaking snowstorm while trying to get to my destination." Grumbled Aries.

.oOo.

After travelling through the icy forest, Aries followed Meciel's instructions and descended down a valley and found a curious structure in the middle. He cautiously made his way toward the abandoned building and pried open the doors.

_'This is it. This is the what I have been feeling when we came into Nevernever.'_ Meciel whispered in his mind.

Taking out his wand, Aries murmured. _"Lumos."_

As the light shone from the end of his wand, Aries took in his surroundings. It was almost like a factory with shiny metal objects were piled in the center of the room.

"Are those-" Said Aries.

_'Steel.' _Meciel finished for him.

"Steel? What are they doing in Winter territory? Sidhes _hate_ steel and it's their weakness!" Aries exclaimed.

_'I don't know. I have been feeling their energies ever since we came here. The very atmosphere of Nevernever is saturated with magic and I can feel that those metals are also saturated by Fae magic. It was faint but I could tell it was concentrated around this area.'_ Meciel shifted in his mind.

"What is this place?" Aries wondered as the light on his wand brightened and allowed him to look at the complete view of his surroundings.

_'I believe it used to be something like a steel factory or a forge judging by the equipments lying around. They are still intact and we might be able to use them.'_ Said Meciel.

"Use them? For what?" Aries asked.

_'For our wand of course.'_ Said Meciel as if explaining the obvious.

"Steel? Our wand will be made of steel?" Aries asked incredulously.

_'Wood is too weak and fragile to channel my power. Steel, on the other hand, is strong enough to contain my power without the strengthening rune and is malleable, unlike other metals which are too brittle. This is a perfect setting. We will be able to use this place and its equipments to craft our new wand.' _Meciel said with slight excitement.

"Is it even possible? I mean, I never seen or heard of a wand crafted from steel." Aries asked her while examining the equipments.

_'When I looked into Ollivander's mind, I was able to learn that wand crafters have been trying for ages to create a wand using steel and other sturdier materials as their wand ingredient. However, steel was not exactly useful in conducting magic and was met with failure. Unlike mortal magic, hellfire and other immortal powers will be able to function normally despite the inability of steel, since they are much more powerful than regular magic.'_ Meciel explained.

"And the magical core? If steel is not a good conductor of magic, then it's only natural that we must use very powerful magical core for our wand in order to counterbalance the steel. I don't know any cores that could be used and I'm not carrying anything with me other than my wand, sword, and shrunken trunk." Aries frowned.

Meciel simply chuckled. _'Beloved, you are already carrying the most powerful conductor for magic with you. It's far more powerful than any other cores you may encounter and it's specifically tied to you only.'_

Aries' eyebrow quirked up in his surprise. "And that would be?"

_'Your blood of course.'_ Meciel stated simply.

Aries sharply looked at her. "My blood?"

_'Do you remember about the Thrice Bound Oath I taught you?'_ Meciel asked.

Aries immediately adopted a solemn expression. The Thrice Bound Oath was much like the magical oath or the Unbreakable Oath wand-wizards made and not to be taken lightly. It was the rule of the Old World that immortal beings like Meciel and Sidhes followed almost reverently. Once a promise was given in Thrice Bound Oath, the immortal beings must follow them no matter what. It was a binding agreement. They swore three times and hence, came to be known as the Thrice Bound Oath. They swore by their name, their blood, and their magic.

It was because of this reason that Meciel cautioned him against giving other people his full name or writing them down and also be very careful to not spill his blood so that no one may get their hands on it.

_'Just knowing your enemies' full name already gives you a power over them. That's why when you know the name of immortals, you can summon them in a ritual like you summoned the demons and other Faes into the mortal world. Magical contracts and oaths cannot be made without the full name of the participants and will be null and void if the name used is wrong. As for the blood, it is the vessel in which magic travels through. Your magic is very strongly linked with your soul and it is brought on to the physical world through your blood. That's why many blood magic are so powerful and is the quintessential element in most rituals.'_ Meciel explained.

_'The blood is the most powerful core that anyone can use in their wands, but it is also extremely volatile. Blood not only carries your magic, it also carries your very life with it. Many magic users have tried to use blood in their spells for maximum potency and it often ended up backfiring on them with spectacular results. This is where the muggle tales of using your blood in cult or other various magical rituals were created. Magical governments were forced to ban the blood magic as forbidden due to numerous times when foolish and overconfident idiots used blood in their magic and ended up blowing themselves up and their surrounding areas.'_ Meciel continued.

"And you believe steel will be able to contain my blood's volatile nature?" Aries asked anxiously. He did not feel exactly thrilled in creating his new wand when it is most likely to detonate in his face.

_'Wand crafters also recognized the power within the blood and often tried to use it as their magical core within the wand. However, Its power was too much for the wooden wand to contain and often exploded in wand crafters' faces. Steel, on the other hand, will be strong enough to counter balance the volatile nature of blood.'_ Meciel deduced.

Aries looked around the abandoned forge and heaved a sigh. As much as he didn't want to stay in Nevernever in middle of freaking snowstorm no less, a chance like this wasn't going to appear in his life again when he was too busy laying low to hide from his enemies. If he wanted to increase his life span, he probably would need this new powerful wand.

"Well Meciel, we might as well get started then. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I get to leave this place and actually go to some place warm that won't freeze my balls off." Aries grunted.

.oOo.

Listening to Meciel's instructions, Aries began to work. He had to light the fire in hearth in order to heat the enchanted metals that have been saturated by Fae magic. He let Meciel pick out the best ones from the pile and ended up with several chunks of onyx black metal that seemed to absorb the light cast on them instead of reflecting it like most metals did.

He threw the first metal into the hearth and watched it glow hot white before extracting it out with magic and hovering it in the air. He could feel his hand wave his wand as Meciel used his arm to construct the glowing molten steel into a shape of thirteen inch wand.

_'Now beloved, use the dagger you have with you to prick your palm and let the blood drop onto the wand.'_ Meciel instructed.

He took out his dagger and made small cut on his palm and watched with wary eyes as he levitated the dripping blood onto the inert, steel wand in front of him. As soon as he forced in the blood into the tiny hole that he had made that ran along the center of the wand's length, he felt Meciel weave complex spell to stabilize the violent reaction that blood was giving out.

_'Well it looks almost-' _

An explosion cut off whatever she was about to say and the force of the blast slammed into him. He cried out in surprise and with Meciel's help, was able to create a dome of magical wall in front of him just as the blast slammed into him. It still shattered the shield he created and hurled him back.

"Well shit! You weren't lying when you said it literally exploded in their faces!" Aries exclaimed as he picked himself up from the ground.

'This will be harder than I expected but do not worry beloved, we will create a new steel wand before getting out of here.' Meciel soothed him.

"That's assuming that the explosions don't blast off my head. I like where my head is." Aries grunted.

.oOo.

Aries tried it out two more times under Meciel's instructions but was met with failure as it exploded on his face twice. He was getting more impatient and rather wary with each failure.

_'I think you should change into Bone Wyrm beloved.'_ Meciel whispered in his mind.

"Change into my demon form?" Aries asked. "How come?"

_'As a Bone Wyrm, your plates of armor will protect you against the explosions and your blood will be more potent, allowing us much stronger wand.'_ Meciel advised.

"Yeah but also more volatile core. It's more likely cause bigger explosions since demon blood is much more potent than human blood." Aries argued back.

_'However, in your Bone Wyrm form, you will be able to pour out more magic and stabilize the wand. Allow me to take control while you are transformed, you might not be able to control the situation.'_ Said Meciel.

Sighing in annoyance, Aries muttered back. "I hope you know what you are doing Meciel."

With that he transformed into his demonic form. Ashen wings of bone jutted out from his back while his entire body lengthened as it grew bigger. Bulging muscles formed around his body followed by plates of bone armor that protected his body from any harm. His legs grew longer and thickened and thick, muscular tail with plates of armor sprouted out from the back of his hips before ending in sharp blade. His head grew more draconic and horns of ashen bones formed. Two sets of eyes appeared on his face, one glowing eerily green while other in luminescent silver. The glowing silver sigil of Meciel appeared on his forehead.

Through the haze of intoxicating pleasure and smell of burning sulphur, he could felt a sharp pain on his head before subsiding as Meciel took control over his body. She was able to fight down the burning desire to destroy everything in his path and flexed his body this way and that as she grew accustomed to controlling his limbs.

Using his muscular arms, Meciel picked up the last chunk of onyx metal and threw it to the hearth in order to heat it up. Once it grew white hot again, she removed the glowing metal by levitating it to the air and formed a small hole along the center of wand's length. She made a small cut on his hand using dagger and he watched as his demonic blood come out of his hand.

It was much different than the human blood. It was still red but he could literally feel the pulsing power within the each droplets of blood that combined with the steel wand. Immediately, he and Meciel summoned the hellfire and wrapped it around the levitating wand as the blood inside sought to react according to it violent nature. As he poured out his magic, Meciel weaved complex spell to stabilize the blood inside while keeping the steel in its shape.

He could feel the resistance as it refused to stay calm. He snarled out in anger as his patience reached his limits. This was _his_ blood! _His_ magic! So it _will_ listen to him!

Pouring out his power and will Aries snarled out again. "Obey!"

With Meciel's concentration, the wand and blood began to stabilize and soon they succeeded.

_'It is done. You did it beloved! You forced your will and power to it and brought the volatile blood under your control!'_ Said Meciel while looking at him with mixture of pride and fondness.

"We did it." Corrected Aries while giving her a tired smile as he transformed back to his human form.

The wand hovered in the air in front of him. Its black steel absorbing the light cast on it from the fire of the forge and the air around it seemed to shimmer with power. It was exactly thirteen inches long.

_'Go on beloved. Grab it. The wand is waiting for its master.'_ Meciel whispered to him with pride.

After getting his breathing under control, Aries slowly reached out with his hand and let it hover just above the steel wand. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the wand.

Rushing power greeted him. Lightning and electricity crackled around him and hellfire erupted from the tip of the wand and bathed him in its warmth as the wand greeted him as its rightful master. It was almost the same sensation of power when he accepted Meciel's hand and transformed into a Denarian except without the bulk of pain. There was tingling of pain along with intoxicating rush of dark power but it was insignificant compared to the sensation he was feeling.

It was much better and stronger feeling compared to when he grabbed the Holly and Phoenix feather wand from Ollivander. It was as if he was greeting an old friend. It felt more like a part of himself than a mere tool. He felt almost invincible.

He could feel the joy and pride from Meciel and despite the chilling cold around him, he felt never better.

A sound of hands clapping and soft, tinkling laughter interrupted his thoughts. Twisting around with inhuman speed, Aries spun around and pointed his wand toward the source of noise while drawing out his sword from its scabbard in one fluid motion.

Gasp escaped from his lips as his eyes widened momentarily before narrowing slightly. Before him stood Maeve, the Lady of Winter. She was just as beautiful as he remembered. Just as Meciel as her own form of beauty, Maeve had her own. Her skin were pale yet radiant, like the ice around her. Her features was perfect, far too perfect to be a mortal, just like Meciel. She looked around in her late teens or early twenties. Last time, her long hair was bound into dreadlocks but now, it flowed freely in long, luxurious wave. The hair shifted in different colors of deep lavender to pale blues and greens to pure white so that it looked as if made of ice. As his eyes trailed down her figure, he couldn't help but swallow his suddenly dry throat. She was in a pale winter blue dress that hugged her beautiful features. It was tied from the back of her neck and flowed down in two separate silk as each covered her large, gravity defying breasts while leaving the valley between her breasts open as well as her flat belly. The skirt hugged her hips before being separated by numerous cuts into individual strand of clothes, revealing her long dancer like legs.

Her face was beautiful, with full red lips were lifted up at the corners in sensual smile while her slanted, feline eyes, almost same color as his own eyes, was alight with amusement.

"Maeve." Aries greeted her curtly with a small nod of his head.

"Hello Harry. It's been a while isn't it?" She purred.

He swallowed again as warm, pleasant haze filled his mind but he fought it off with difficulty without the aid of hellfire. His eyes flickered behind her and around him as he sought to see if anyone else was here. A throaty laugh interrupted his observations.

"Don't worry my little Denarian, we are alone here. My guards are outside and nearly half a mile away. No one will hear what we do here. You would like that wouldn't you?" She said mischievously with a saucy wink.

Steeling himself and his voice, he replied. "I see you finally ditched your carriage of pimp-mobile and your group of entourage. Getting bored of them already?"

She simply chucked. "I see you haven't changed except you got better than last time."

"Oh I've been busy, what with trying to avoid assassination and growing stronger. You know what they say to have a good time, it's all in the hips." Aries smirked.

_'Be very wary beloved, we were very lucky last time. She must want something from you to come here and find you.'_ Meciel warned him.

"Ah Meciel, it's good to see you again too." Maeve smiled.

"What is it that you want Maeve? As much as I enjoyed squeezing your boobs last time, I doubt you came all the way here just for let me to squeeze them again." Aries smirked again at the memory.

"You would like that wouldn't you? Hmmm? To touch my breasts again?" Maeve grinned as she slowly ran her hand up from the side of her hips to the side of her breasts while pressing her already impressive busts together giving him generous view of her tantalizing cleavage.

"As much as I would love to, I doubt you would let me do that again for free like last time. So what do you want?" Aries asked again.

"Ahhh you are no fun." Maeve pouted.

Aries stayed silent but did not lower his wand or his sword. She sauntered closer to him in liquid grace while seemingly unconcerned of his weapons.

"Harry, Harry, you naughty child. Coming here without even visiting me?" Maeve said while tracing her hand on his chest.

Aries gritted his teeth as pleasant shiver shot down his spine. She smelled sweet and soft with icy breeze of winter as she bent down to his height.

"Maeve what is this place? And by the way, my real name is Aries, Harry was just a nickname for my true name." Aries replied while ignoring the pleasant yet icy sensation as she rubbed his chest.

_'Beloved! You shouldn't have given her your real name! Who knows what she'll do with it?'_ Meciel warned him.

_'She would've have figured it out anyway. It was only a matter of time before she found out since she seems inordinately interested in me.'_ Aries whispered back in his mind.

Maeve blinked at the new information before her lips broke out in a sensual smile. "Aries then? I see. Like the Aries of Zodiac."

"Well what is this place?" Aries asked he narrowed his eyes while reluctantly stepping back before bringing his wand and sword back up.

Her pleasant demeanor vanished and was replaced by something cold, inhuman, and alien.

"You dare to point the steel at me?" She hissed as her power lashed out at him. The wind howled more fiercely and thunder seemed to rumble. As quickly as she acted up, she changed her demeanor again and the wind and thunder died down.

Smiling sensually once more she replied. "Well if you must know, it used to be a steel factory but now it's nothing more than a storage."

"And what would Faes want with steel? Faes and steel don't mix well together just like horny little buggers' attempt to have sex with a girl." Aries asked cautiously while smirking at the joke.

"Lot like yourself?" Maeve smirked back.

"I wouldn't put myself with the likes of them. After all, I did squeeze your boobs before the age of 9. If that's what I can do at such a tender age, I'll be a pro by the time I reach puberty." Aries drawled.

Meciel just sighed in exasperation while Maeve threw back her head and laughed, sounding as if water were falling on diamonds.

Gesturing at the pile of steel Maeve smiled thinly. "Long ago, when Winter and Summer courts fought each other, both sides used steel to devastating effects. After the treaty, use of steel was banned and the remaining steel were to be gathered and never be used again while the steel forge and factories were shut down. This is what is left of that great war."

"And now, I see you used some of the steel to create that new wand." Said Maeve as her eyes flickered to the black steel.

"My old wand is not enough to channel Meciel's power. I needed a new, more powerful wand if I am to survive against my enemies, especially the Order of Blackened Denarius." Aries grimaced.

A brief flash of alien emotion warred in Maeve's eyes but it disappeared just as it quickly came.

"Using the steel without my permission is against the law here." Maeve commented idly as she watched him closely.

"Oh is that so? Winter no longer uses these steel and I doubt you would let me die so easily. You do seem quite interested in me. Is it my animal magnetism?" Aries asked with a cocky smile.

"Perhaps. You are much more interesting to talk to than other Denarians but everything in the Nevernever comes with a price." Maeve smirked.

"So this is the reason why you came here. You want me to cough up the price for this steel." Aries snorted.

"That would be one way to put it." Maeve chuckled.

"I hope it's not my soul cause Meciel already called dibs on it first." Aries said drily while rolling his eyes.

"I know, I'm looking for other price." Said Maeve.

"Technically speaking, this steel is not yours since the treaty between Winter and Summer court forbade Faes from using steel against each other. It belongs to no one now. Besides, you will probably watch me fight other Denarians using this wand and that should be more than enough entertainment for you. Asking for my servitude or a favor for just a lump of steel is against law of equivalent exchange don't you think?" Aries smirked at her.

Maeve watched him with cold, alien expression before her face broke out in a smile.

"Clever child. Aries, you certainly are cunning and intelligent. You hold much promise." Maeve said with a wink.

She bent down while showing him a spectacular view of her drool worthy cleavage until her lips were right next to his ears.

"Should you ever find yourself in need, dear my Aries, don't hesitate to summon me." Maeve whispered softly with seductive edge and Aries resisted a shiver as her warm breath tickled against his ear. "Maybe we will sort out an agreement that will...satisfy...us both."

"For a price." Aries whispered back.

Maeve smiled seductively before giving him a wicked smile and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. Aries started as tingles of pleasure and something far too mature for him shot through him as Maeve stood up with a smirk on her face.

"There are times when the reward is well worth the price." Said Maeve seductively while idly licking her lips.

With that, she turned and glided away with purposeful swaying of her hips. Right as she reached the entrance of the factory, she looked back at him and blew him a kiss and a wink with very provocative look on her face that made heat rise in his cheeks.

When she was gone, Aries let out a gasping breath as he breathed deeply.

_'I'm so proud of you beloved. You crafted an impossible wand and successfully outwitted Maeve, the Lady of Winter. There aren't many beings that can do that, much less in one day.'_ Meciel materialized next to him as her silver eyes gazed at him with fondness and affection.

"Well what can I say Meciel? It's all in the day's work." Aries smiled cockily at her.

"I'm getting more awesome day by day." Aries boasted.

Instead of sighing exasperation, Meciel threw back her head and let out a soft, tinkling laughter that sounded like music to his ears.

.oOo.

A small rip appeared. A distortion of reality. Through this rip in the fabric of reality, a small figure stepped out accompanied by a icy gust of wind before it closed up. The small figure, a boy of age around nine or ten, shook snow out of his hair and clothes before turning his gaze to the city before him.

"We are here. I never thought that a Fallen angel and her accursed host would ever set steps onto this place." Aries muttered.

_'Indeed, I never imagined that our journey would bring us here but according that demon Chaunzaggoroth we summoned in France, it's within this city.'_ Said Meciel.

"Well on the bright side, I doubt the Order of Blackened Denarius would ever look for us in this city." Said Aries.

"How long will we be staying here?" Aries asked curiously.

_'As soon as we get what we are looking for, we can leave I prefer not to stay here any longer than necessary.'_ Meciel replied back.

"Well until then, looks like this will be our home for a while." Aries sighed.

_'Indeed, beloved.'_ Meciel shifted in his mind in wry amusement as he snorted at the irony.

_'Welcome to the Land of God. Welcome to Jerusalem.' _Meciel whispered.

**Damn this was a tiring chapter but it turned out better than I expected. Denarian Renegade is awesome but Shezza88 didn't delve too much into the Thrice Bound Oath or Meciel's previous host and I KNEW I just had to go deeper into it. It's such an interesting idea and swearing three times made me think about things that immortals would swear by. Also I've been thinking of using steel for the wand quite some time since wooden wands are too fragile and easily broken, (like Ron Weasley did in Chamber of Secret) he needs something that truly set him apart from his peers and fitting for Meciel. It also fits in quite nicely with Fae ideas.**

**Ok since some people might be confused about the plot line cause of flashbacks, here is the general summary in chronological order**

**1.) Harry kills Dursleys.**

**2.) Harry goes to Diagon Alley and purchases his wand and Nightfang and changes his name.**

**3.) Harry goes to France and saves Fleur from slave traders.**

**4.) Harry travels into Nevernever 2nd time and arrives at Jerusalem.**


	6. In the Land of God

In the Land of God

Aries yawned as he looked around him. Just few days ago, he had arrived in Jerusalem through Nevernever and since then, he had been busy mapping out the place for his escape later on. The fact that he, a Denarian and host to the Fallen, was in the sacred land of God and the holy city of 3 different religions never ceased to draw out an amused snort from him.

Currently, he was sitting outside on a cafe while carefully studying the structure a block away. The Dome of the Rock glittered against the rays of the Sun as its golden dome shone and reflected against sunlight. The building was an iconic structure in the muggle world, during the Crusades the Dome of the Rock was turned into a church. The Knights Templar believed it was the site of the Temple of Solomon and later set up their headquarters in the Al-Aqsa Mosque (3rd holiest site in Sunni Islam and located in Jerusalem) which sat along with the Dome of the Rock even onto this day.

Although the building was turned from a church into a mosque by the Muslims, it was still held as a sacred area by majority of the people, including the Knights of Cross. When the Temple of Solomon was built, the building just didn't exist on the surface because it had series of intricate underground lair that still served to function as one of the Knights of Cross' strategic base. While being in Jerusalem helped him to be protected against other Denarians, especially the Order of Blackened Denarius, it still situated him far too close to the Knights of Cross than he would've liked. Unfortunately, the object of his search was placed within deepest part of Knights of Cross' stronghold.

"Of all the places it can be found, it just has to be in the middle of my enemy's base." Aries grumbled.

_'Do you really believed we can break into the base of Knights of Cross?'_ Asked Aries.

_'It won't be easy. The place is hidden in plain sight and probably filled with guards and other securities we do not know of. However, we have an advantage of surprise since the Knights would never expect a Denarian of all things to sneak inside their base. Besides, I believe they never prepared for the fact that the said Denarian is a wand-wizard.'_ Meciel murmured to him.

Nodding as he mulled over her words, Aries turned his gaze to look at the structure again. There were no visible guards but he was not fooled, they probably had hidden cameras stationed around somewhere to keep track of unwanted intruders. While the temple itself was more of a tourist attraction now, the base was hidden underground. Aries had been spending past few days studying the hidden bases while hammering out the infiltration plan with Meciel's help.

"What was the part about the Knights of Cross being related to the Knights Templar?" Asked Aries while keeping his voice low.

_'The Knights of Cross is very closely related to the Knights Templar. In fact, they are the same organization with different names. Knights Templar has numerous members as it trains them to be strong enough to fight against the Denarians and other beings of darkness. The Knights of Cross, on the other hand, is made up of only 3 knights who wield holy swords imbued with nails that impaled Jesus Christ to the Crucifix. You could say that the Knights of Cross is an elite order amongst Knights Templar. The members of Knights Templar all train to be chosen as the next Knights of Cross but only the best among them is chosen by the archangels and the Swords of Cross. They are both overseen by the Council of Cross, who ultimately make decisions for all that is good and pure.'_ Said Meciel as she shifted in his mind while studying the structure.

"Do you think we'll encounter any of them inside?" Asked Aries while his brows furrowed in worry.

_'I'm positive that we'll encounter Knights Templar but I'm not sure of Knights of the Cross. As for the Council of Cross, they are all located in Vatican City, their headquarter.'_ Informed Meciel

_'If anything, you have the advantage of wand-magic. The Knights of Cross and Knights Templar are trained to fight against the powers of Hell and Fallen angels and anything that's generally evil, since the Swords of Cross can easily cut through even our toughest enchantments. However, I do not believe they have prepared against wand magic. So we should be able to use that to our advantage and slip in and out. Besides, that demon Chaunzaggoroth we summoned in France was able to give us the list of protections inside the base.'_ Meciel continued.

"You do realize that no Denarians ever planned on breaking into the base of Knights of Cross, much less even attempt it." Aries mused while leaning back on his chair.

_'Quite true, but where as they lacked, you have wand magic and a demon informants on your arsenal.'_ Chuckled Meciel.

Looking back again at the Dome of the Rock, he sighed.

"I really hope the object of our search is worth all this crap you put me through. I'm not exactly fond of idea that my head might end up anywhere else but on my neck." Grunted Aries.

.oOo.

Later that afternoon, Aries snuck inside the Dome of the Rock. Pushing past a throng of tourists, Christians, and Muslims, he took in the sight of interior. It was lavishly decorated with mosaic, faience and marble while golden religious objects stood proudly on the altar. Aries let out a low whistle in appreciation.

_'Not bad. If I didn't know any better, I probably would've thought this as a nothing more than a mosque or church, whichever one it is.'_ He mentally thought.

_'I believe the entrance to underground lair is that way.'_ Whispered Meciel.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, Aries slowly edged closer to the area behind the altar while keeping close eye around him to see if anyone noticed his movements. The signs and other various ropes announced that the area was off limits at the end of descending staircase and a locked, steel door prevented anyone from going beyond. Carefully taking out his wand, Aries surveyed his surroundings once more before he whispered unlocking incantation. "_Alohomora._"

The door opened with a small click. Pushing it open slightly, he swiftly entered it before closing it. The hallway of stones leading deeper into the structure greeted him. With a quick disillusionment charm to hide himself against anyone he might encounter, Aries began to walk forward.

At the end of the hallway, he saw the steel door of an elevator and a guard who was standing next to a desk and chair while letting out a yawn as he looked around with bored expression.

Walking carefully to not make any sounds, Aries pointed his wand at the guard and whispered "_Stupefy._"

A jet of red light shot out from the end of his wand before it slammed into the guard who immediately crumpled onto the ground with a thud. Walking forward so that he stood in front of the elevator door, Aries examined rather high tech door. A sophisticated metal device was imbedded where the open button was supposed to be while another was placed much higher.

_'Looks like the Knights have much more sophisticated technology than I believed. Those are DNA scanners so that no one but the guard can open it. Use the guard's hand and eyes.'_ Said Meciel.

Grabbing the guard's hand, Aries pressed its palm against the flat looking screen and watched as it lighted up and scan the hand. It made a confirmation sound and green light blinked on. Now, he once again used his wand and this time levitated the guard so that he was eye level with eye scanner. Prying open his eyelids, Aries brought him closer to the scanner and watched with satisfaction the machine confirmed the identity of the guard and made confirmation sound.

He dropped him down on the chair with his face on the desk so that the guard looked as if he was asleep on duty in order to not raise any suspicions. As the steel door of elevator opened, Aries took the identification card on his chest before entering it.

"Well, that wasn't so hard." Aries muttered.

_'Hopefully it will be easier than we thought.'_ Meciel whispered.

The elevator descended in a rapid pace and it opened once it reached the bottom. Casting a quick disillusionment charm on himself once more, Aries stepped out. A wide hallway, with guards stationed at every few feet and a massive steel door at the end greeted him. The closest guard to the elevator looked up but frowned when he saw that it was empty.

Quickly exiting the elevator, Aries slipped past the guard who moved forward to examine the empty elevator.

_'We need to first find the security room and disable whatever securities they have.'_ Advised Meciel.

Nodding his head, he moved carefully walked toward the end of hallway where a massive steel door was while keeping close eyes on the stationed guards. Stopping arms length from it he contemplated his options.

He could use Alohomora charm again but it would look too suspicious if the steel door opened by itself. Thinking quickly, he pointed his wand to the nearest guard and sent a strong compulsive charm to open the door while sending another charm to the other closest guard to walk through the gate.

"Can you open the door? I need to go to bathroom." Grunted the guard.

Shrugging his shoulders, the other guard complied and slid his identification card and opened the massive steel door. Along with the guard, Aries slipped past the door and took in his surroundings. It was a wide circular room with dome like ceiling and smooth marble floor. It was a perfect circle and he could see three hallways connecting to this spherical room. One is in front while other two were to left and right.

_'Which one leads to the security room?'_ Aries asked mentally.

_'I believe it's the one that leads straight.'_ Meciel murmured.

He swiftly crossed the floor and walked down another hallway while looking for the security room. Spotting a map nailed onto the wall, he made his way over to it.

_'We are currently 100ft below the surface and it seems that the security room is 2 levels below us.'_ Said Meciel.

_'Looks like we are using the stairs.'_ Thought Aries while studying the map.

Turning on his heels, he began to make his way to the security room.

.oOo.

It had taken nearly 20 min for him to reach the room. This place was like a maze with twists and turns. The guards were well equipped with muggle guns and a steel swords strapped onto their hips along with cameras at every turns. Fortunately, it only took a simple disillusionment charm and silencing charm to make his way through the place without alerting anyone.

Now, he stood in front of the room. He took out his both wands, the Holly and Phoenix wand on his left hand while his steel wand was on his right. Taking a deep breath, he opened the locked door with unlocking charm. Slipping inside, Aries saw that there were about 10 people in the room while a big screen was in the front of the room with other various screens showing different levels.

With a flick of his wand he erected a silencing ward around the place in order to prevent the sound fighting that would soon occur. However, as soon as he placed the ward, entire system shut down as computer and TV screens suddenly went blank.

"What the-" One of the guards who was laying back in his chair suddenly bolted up straight.

"What's happening? Give a status on the system!" Said the one who looked to be in charge.

"Sir, the entire system has shut down! It's as if the electricity as been cut off!" Yelled one of the guard who was futilely trying to revive his computer.

_'Of course, the presence of magic disrupts the muggle technology. The silencing ward you put up must be disrupting the flow of electricity. Strike now while they are preoccupied.'_ Said Meciel.

Raising his wands, Aries muttered "_Stupefy_."

Two jets of red light illuminated slightly dim room and slammed into the one in charge and a guard. Those two immediately crumpled to the floor with a slight thud. Before the rest could react, two more jets of red light knocked out more of their numbers.

"What is-" "Somebody-" As the guards bolted up right, they too were cut off as they hit by the stunning spell. Some of them began to scramble behind the tables for cover while others took out their guns. Before they could do anything or call for help, series of stunning spell from the tips of Aries wand dispatched all of them.

_'I don't sense anyone else in this room. I believe that was the last of them.'_ Said Meciel.

Still keeping his wands out, Aries quickly scanned the room for any other dangers. Spotting a door that to the side, he stalked forward and opened it. It was a small room with various metal storages. Curiously opening the containers with unlocking charm, he saw rows of files.

_'These must be the records of Knights of Cross.'_ Said Meciel with great interest.

"Do you think we can take them all?" Asked Aries while looking at the rows and rows of files.

_'No, we'll only take the important ones.'_ Meciel replied.

With that, he began rummaging through the rows of files, taking out important files such as their locations and various bases they had. While looking through the files, he came upon a desk on the corner of the room. Opening the drawers, he spotted nothing ordinary until Meciel found a hidden compartment.

Grinning with anticipation at finding something important, Aries pulled out a rather large hidden drawer from the side of the desk and came upon... stacks of porn.

"What the-" Exclaimed Aries as his eyes widened at the cover of various magazines. Voluptuous female models posed in skimpy clothing with provocative expressions on their faces. Taking out the one on the top which was named "Playboy" he opened it and watched with wide eyes at the contents inside.

He flipped through various magazines and his face grew redder and redder with each page he turned as it became more explicit.

A peal of tinkling laughter that reminded of soft chimes brought him out of his reverie.

_'Well well well what do you know! Looks like the Knights of Cross and Knights Templar aren't so innocent after all! Naughty. Naughty. What would the church say if they found out that Knights Templar look through stacks of porn when they should be watching the screen for intruders!'_ Laughed Meciel.

Aries could feel Meciel throb in his mind with amusement and delight and felt warm feeling flow through him.

He began to snigger. Then it turned into chuckle and it became a full blown laughter as he began to laugh along with Meciel at the irony of the situation. He was clutching his side as tears of mirth ran down his cheeks. It was a good thing that the silencing ward still up, otherwise he probably would've alerted the guards by now.

Once he got his laughter under control, he sat up.

"I never thought that the so called holy knights kept porn magazines while on duty. Bunch of closet homosexuals and hypocrites." He snorted.

Looking over at the stacks of magazine, he smirked. "Now that's a booty worth taking!"

He took out his bottomless bag and began to deposit the magazines inside.

_'Boys grow up so fast. Already 9 or 10 years old and looking at his first porn. I'm so proud.'_ Meciel mock sighed.

"Hey! I'm a growing boy and it's perfectly natural!" Aries defended himself although he felt his cheeks redden.

_'Sure, and so is squeezing Maeve's boobs and continuously trying to get inside my knickers.'_ Meciel drawled as she continued to tease him.

"What can I say? There is a voice inside my head that constantly makes me do bad things all the time." Aries said brightly.

_'Oh do stop your whining beloved. It's just that you are a pervert.'_ Meciel sniggered.

"I'm not!" Aries argued back.

_'Then why are you taking the stacks of porn?'_ Meciel asked smugly.

"It's just-" "Well... ummm-" "It's- it's a research project! Yeah, I'm learning about the nature of human bodies." Aries nodded sagely to himself after stammering out for an excuse.

_'... That's so lame.'_ Meciel let out another peal of laughter at his poor excuse.

"Whatever." Grunted Aries.

_'Pervert.'_ Meciel giggled.

.oOo.

After securing his booty and disabling the security, he propped up the guards on chairs and tied them with ropes he conjured. Lifting the silencing ward, he walked out of the room. He could still feel the warmth from Meciel as she pulsed in his head with mirth. Aries rolled his eyes, Meciel would probably tease him and not shut up about it for days afterward.

_'Now time to get what we came here for.'_ Aries thought.

After disabling the security, it was relatively easy for him to descend down further into the earth. By the time the guards awoke and send out alert for intruder, he would be long gone.

_'The vault is the in the deepest part of the base. It's most likely to be in the very bottom.' _Advised Meciel.

He was almost there. The ground was no longer made of marbles but held silvery sheen of steel. Stepping into a wide rectangular room with a high ceiling, he saw a massive circular door at the end. There were 4 guards stationed around the room, one on each corner armed with assault rifles and a sword strapped onto their hips. As soon as he as he made halfway across, he felt a change in the guards.

Their eyes suddenly snapped to where he was and raised their guns.

"An intruder!" yelled one of the guards.

Aries quickly rolled out of the way just as one of them pulled the trigger. Raising his wands he yelled out "Stupefy!"

The twin beams of red light flew toward their targets but they quickly rolled out of the way just like he did.

Canceling his disillusionment charm, since it was no longer needed, he frantically asked Meciel. _'How the hell did they sense me? I was invisible and I disabled the security from earlier!'_

_'It must be the Angel Magic. They must have had detection ward set up.'_ Said Meciel as Aries embraced the hellfire.

He jumped away from the center of the room and yelled "Protego!"

The shield of glowing light materialized in front of him and absorbed the incoming bullets, Aries pivoted as one of the guards came closer and swung his sword. It harmlessly slashed by him and landed on the ground with loud CRACK. Snarling in anger, Aries kicked him in his stomach and watched as the guard was lifted into the air before landing several feet away thanks to his unholy strength. After sending another jets of stunning spell at them, he pocketed his Holly and Phoenix wand before drawing out the sword strapped onto his back.

Lightning and electricity seemed to crackle along its length and it seemed to glow with power. It was the sword that Meciel's previous host had used and quite powerful. He had retrieved from a small pawnbroker at London and since then, it was very useful when dealing with powerful enemies.

Rushing forward, he raised the sword before bringing it down in one savage motion at the fallen guard. He gurgled as the sharp end of point pierced his heart before the light quickly faded from his eyes.

Aries wrenched the sword from the corpse and erected another shield spell to deflect the spray of bullets. Pointing his wand at the one who shot at him, he snarled _"Reducto!"_

The blasting curse hurled the guard away before he smashed against the wall with sickening thud as his bones broke under the pressure between the curse and the force of impact. Aries resisted the slight light-headiness and refused to wobble from the effect of his curse.

_'Aries this is why I don't recommend using combat spells at this age. While you may know how to use it but your body and magical core are not stable enough to handle the stress that accompanies it.'_ Meciel warned.

The remaining two guards have ran out of bullets by this time and drew their swords before leaping forward to meet him in close combat. Aries ducked and weaved through their slashes and responded with his own. While the Knights Templar's strokes were more controlled and precise, his slashes were more wild and brutal.

_'I'm gonna have to learn how to wield a sword one of these days.'_ Aries thought grimly.

He hissed as one of the guard thrust his sword forward and it grazed past his cheek. His emerald eyes glinted in anger as blood ran down his cheek from the wound. Aries pointed his wand at the guard and shut stunning spell at him at point blank range. Immediately, he had to duck as the other guard swung his sword where his head was a second ago.

Embracing the hellfire, one of ashen wings of bone erupted from his left shoulder and pierced the last guard's neck. His eyes widened at surprise before his life faded away. He tossed the guard away and withdrew his wing.

Aries panted from exhaustion as his continuous spell casting began to take its toll on his body, the fact that he was able to cast lots of spells today considering his age was impressive itself.

_'Well done beloved. We are almost done. We just need to open the vault door and grab what we need and get out of here.'_ Meciel whispered her encouragement.

Flicking his sword to get rid of blood, he sheathed it once more before walking toward the massive iron door. It was made of stainless steel and he could see various locks preventing it from opening. Extending his senses to the door, Aries observed 5 different locks guarding the door.

Thankfully, no matter how sophisticated the muggle technology was, the presence of magic nullified even the most complex lock they created. Pointing his wand at the gate, Aries muttered "_Alohomora_."

The steel locks groaned slightly before opening up smoothly and revealing a dimly lit room. However, Aries didn't immediately stumble into the room. Instead he wearily gaze at it.

"Meciel, do you think there are any Angel Wards within the room? The guards were able to detect me thanks to the detection ward by the angels. I don't want to set a foot in that room and end up being roasted alive." Aries asked warily.

Meciel shifted in his mind as she extended her magical senses outward.

_'I don't believe so beloved. Presence of magic nullifies muggle technology and angel magic is no different. I would guess that they were only able to set up detection ward since anymore would disrupt that rather sophisticated vault door.'_ Said Meciel.

Taking cautious steps, Aries began to walk forward into the room. When nothing happened, he let out a sigh of relief and took in the room more closely. Various objects lined up against the wall. Swords, daggers, spears, hammers and even oddly looking spheres decorated the place and deeper he travelled into the room, he could feel the pulse of energy from the objects.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes before activating his Third Sight. He slowly opened his eyes and immediately squeezed his eyes shut as the bright light bombarded his eyes. He once again slowly opened his eyes and gasped at the sight he saw: the weapons and other objects all emitted extreme power. They swirled and pulsed with energy and he felt he was going to suffocate with amount of power concentrated in this very room.

"Meciel, what are all these?" Aries asked her in wonder.

_'It seems that Knights of Cross and Knights Templar have been collecting weapons from Denarians and other beings of darkness they defeated. They stored them here to safeguard them.'_ Said Meciel as she too, studied various objects around them with open curiosity.

A wide grin formed on his face as he looked around him. "This is so cool. Do you think we'll be able to take them all?" Aries asked eagerly.

_'Unfortunately, you won't be able to carry them all. I don't think your bottomless bag would be able to fit these things inside it anyway.'_ Chuckled Meciel.

"Then which one do we take? There must be hundreds of them in this place." Aries asked while frowning with disappointment.

_'Remember our goal Aries, what we seek is easily more powerful than any of them. It should be further inside this chamber.'_ Meciel reminded him.

Aries snapped out of his reverie and stalked further down the room. It seemed that further he travelled into the chamber, the stronger objects became. He shivered just from amount of power that radiated around him.

At last, he reached the end and he let out of gasp. There at the end, were 5 objects that radiated such power that seemed to dwarf all other weapons he saw. His eyes immediately locked onto the sword in the middle. It was beautifully made sword and just as deadly, its blades looked unnaturally sharp and seemed it could slice through anything. It's width was about his 4 fingers pressed flat together and about 3.5ft long. Its guard was slight curve with hand and a half handle, allowing the wielder to grip it one hand or use two hands for more strength. **(If you need visualization, it's the sword that Gandalf from Lord of the Rings used, just that it's little wider.)**

It seemed to call out to him and he stood still as he admired this beautiful weapon.

_'This is it. This is the weapon we came looking into Jerusalem for. This is the sword I once used when I was a former archangel of Heaven. When I fell, I lost this sword but it seems that angels gave it to the Knights of Cross for safe keeping. It was a good thing that demon Chaunzaggoroth knew where it was.'_ Whispered Meciel as she gazed at it intensely.

"It's beautiful. Does it have a name?" Aries whispered.

Meciel chuckled_. 'Aries, I'd like to you meet Judgment, the sword I once wielded. Go on and grab it. It can sense that you, through me, are its rightful wielder.'_

Swallowing his dry throat, he let his hand hover just above the weapon. The air seemed to shimmer with power. Taking a deep breath like he did when he first grabbed his steel wand, Aries gripped the handle of the blade.

Raw power coursed through him as the air around it hummed and vibrated. Bright lights danced around him and lightning crackled along its length as the sword finally reunited with its master for first time in eons. Where as he felt the power of hellfire when accepting Meciel's hand and grabbing his steel wand, Aries felt nothing but pure and raw power as he held Judgment.

_'That's one of its strength. Whereas most angelic weapons are specifically built to combat the evil, Judgment holds nothing but pure power, allowing it to battle anything, whether good or evil. It's one of few weapons in this world that can stand up to the Swords of Cross.'_ Meciel said with pride.

When the sword finally subsided, Aries gazed at it with much appreciation.

"Damn, if this baby is so powerful, why didn't you try retrieving it when you had other hosts?" Asked Aries curiously.

_'They didn't have any magic. You are the first magic user I had and it gives you lots of advantage over others.'_ Replied Meciel.

"Well that shows you how much awesome I am. I mean, I did break into the stronghold of Knights of Cross and reclaimed Judgment." Aries grinned as he boasted.

Chuckling at his enthusiasm, she said _'We should go now, it won't be long before they find out about the intruder.'_

After securing it on his back, across from his other sword, Aries quickly left with disillusionment charm and made his way back to the surface. Half way through the stronghold, he began encountering resistance from the guards as they realized an intruder was among them.

He snarled in anger as he ducked behind a corner as guards fired their semi-automatic assault rifles from the wide circular room with a large dome he had crossed earlier. Erecting a powerful shield charm to block the oncoming hail of bullets he ran forward and yelled "Incendio!"

A wave of fire caught 5 of guards who were in its direct path and they screamed out in agony as liquid fire licked their skins. He dispatched the others with series of stunning charms.

As he panted for breath he caught a large slab of white stone in middle of the room. It hadn't been there when he first crossed this room before making his way toward the security room.

_'Looks like this is the common room where various tunnels and the entrance meets.'_ Said Meciel.

Still observing the large slab of white stone in the middle, Aries suddenly smirked as an idea flashed in his mind. Reaching into his bottomless bag, he pulled out a can of spray paint he purchased earlier today and stalked forward.

Meciel sighed in annoyance. _'Beloved, now is not the time to fool around. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. Are you listening to me? What are you-'_

Whatever she was about to say was cut off as Aries soon finished his worked and took few steps back to observe his handiwork with pride and a smug grin.

Meciel was at loss of words for a moment before she started chuckling and it soon turned into a laughter. Despite the dangerous situation they were in, she couldn't help but to laugh at his work.

Spray painted in the smooth white stone in bright red paint the message read "JOIN THE DARK SIDE! WE HAVE PORN FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BLUE BALLS!" For an added temptation, Aries took out few porn magazines he found earlier before sticking them on the stone with a sticking charm.

"I do believe this will keep them preoccupied for a while. I do need to cover our track." Aries sniggered.

_'This is just pure gold.'_ Meciel laughed in his mind.

.oOo.

It was night outside when he walked out of the Dome of the Rock. Stars twinkled on the heaven and the moon bathed the earth with its silver light.

_'I'm gonna need a good night of sleep after the excitement today. Can't wait to get some rest.'_ Aries yawned as he thought.

_'I don't think that would be wise. Knights of Cross and Templar would soon flood this area looking for us. I know you are tired but we should leave this city before taking a rest.'_ Advised Meciel.

"There is no rest for the weary." Sighed Aries.

Making his way to the hotel he stayed in, he quickly packed up his belongings and gently awakened Nightfang who grumbled at being disturbed. Nonetheless, he travelled up his arm before coiling around his shoulders.

Stifling a yawn, Aries made his way out of the city.

.oOo.

It had been nearly 2 days since his break in and he had successfully left Jerusalem without encountering the Knights. He was still in Israel but he was out of immediate danger.

"When are you going to teach me swordsmanship? I noticed while fighting the Knights Templar that I seriously need some sword skills." Aries asked while meditating as Nightfang dosed by the window under the sunlight.

_'While you are much stronger than normal humans, your body is still that of a child so holding onto the sword for a period of time may be bit difficult. You need to first develop muscles needed before I can teach you anything.'_ Said Meciel.

Sighing in disappointment, he snapped out of his meditative state before getting dressed.

_"I bored. I'm gonna walk around for a bit."_ Aries hissed to Nightfang.

_"Do be careful. Take the swords with you just in case."_ Nightfang hissed back sleepily.

Strapping the two swords onto his back, Aries walked out of the motel they were currently staying in. He didn't walk on the open road but kept to the shadowy streets and alleys. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice where he was going and found himself in a deserted alley.

"Great, I'm gonna have to walk around more just to make it back." Aries grunted.

He turned away and was about to walk out when a woman appeared and blocked his path. His eyes narrowed and a slight frown formed on his lips as he observed the woman in front of him.

She was of average height with long dark hair that reached up to her waist and her dark eyes studied him in return. She was slender and it was obvious she was pretty even to a young boy like Aries. She was wearing a black blouse and skirt and confidently stood there while watching him with small amusement.

_'Denarian! You must flee beloved! She also carries a Fallen and she belongs to the Order of Blackened Denarius!'_ Meciel hissed in his mind as she looked at the woman with great hatred.

His body instantly tensed and he could feel his adrenaline pumping in preparation for fight or flight. Whereas he was tense, the woman was very relaxed and confident with dangerous smirk on her face.

"Who are you?" Aries asked with watchful frown.

"I am Deirdre, Meciel." She replied with amusement dancing in her eyes. "Really, you should know this by now."

"Oh really? I'm sure we never met before since I don't remember you at all." Aries responded warily.

Her eyebrows rose at the surprise as she regarded him more closely. "You are the host? Meciel is not in command?"

"No, I'm an Easter Bunny from hell with a voice inside my head who is a bad influence." Aries said in sarcastic voice.

Instead of being offended, she grew more amused at his reply. "You may look like a child but you certainly don't act like one."

_'She is too powerful for you to fight as of now. She had been carrying the coin for nearly a century now. She is far too experienced. You must escape any way you can.'_ Meciel cautioned as she shifted nervously in his mind.

"How did you find me? I was quite sure Order of Blackened Denarius wouldn't follow me into the Land of God." Asked Aries as he allowed small tickle of hellfire to flow into his body and felt intoxicating rush of darkness and power.

As always, it was just as powerful as violent but after nearly one and a half years of practicing under Meciel's guidance, he had no problem keeping it under control.

"We have our methods and we have been tracking Meciel for quite some time now. I was quite surprised when you came out of Jerusalem without any injury. I expected the Knights of Cross to finish you off." Deirdre answered idly while flicking her hair back.

"It would be better for you to hand over the coin. Who knows? I might be merciful and spare your life." She continued to speak while hungrily gazing at him.

_'It's a lie beloved. Denarians don't show mercy and she would certainly kill you.' _Meciel whispered in his mind.

_'I know. I can see it in her eyes.' _Aries whispered back.

"You would do well to serve my father. I'm sure he can find a use for one such as yourself. All you-"

The small tickle of hellfire that have been flowing into him opened up into a flood of power as he embraced the dark hellfire. In an effort to distract her, he flicked his right arm outward and watched as the ball of hellfire was formed in his palms before they struck her. Just as the fire hid him from the view, he withdrew his wand and pulled out his other sword in one fluid motion.

When the fireball was about a meter away from Deirdre, it slammed onto a invisible barrier before dissipating. As soon as he held his wand, he sent a cutting curse followed by _Lumos Maxima._

As the fireball disappeared, the cutting curse shot through the barrier and left a gash on her right shoulder and she hissed in pain and shielded her eyes at the sudden bright light that appeared in front of her. Dashing forward, Aries brought down the sword in smooth arc and slashed her from shoulder to hip.

With a spray of blood, Deirdre leaped back and sent a fireball much like he did except that it was much bigger and more powerful. Aries flicked his wand and hissed out "_Protego_!"

The shield charm formed between him and the fire but he angled it so that the force of spell would deflect more rather than be absorbed head on.

"I must admit, that hurts like a bitch and I didn't expect you to be a wand-wizard." Deirdre hissed out. "But I am no lowly Denarian who can be taken down by mere human weapons!"

Aries merely sneered back at her before summoning a nearly metal dumpster at her. Instead of summoning another shield, she nimbly jumped sideway while the dumpster flew past her and slammed into the wall with a thud. Aries dashed forward once more and this time, pointed his wand at the ground just few inches in front of her and yelled "_Bombarda_!"

The blasting spell shattered the ground in front of her and showered her with chunks of rock and dust, temporarily distracting her. When he was within the reach, he thrust his sword forward and watched as it pierce her other shoulder. Howling in anger, she transformed her hand and her five fingered hands became three fingered, metallic claws as she slashed at him. Aries wrenched his sword free but the claw left a deep gash on his arm as he wasn't fast enough to dodge it.

He hissed in pain and watched with grimace as Deirdre transformed into her demon form. With her claws complete, her arms extended and her skinned transformed into rows of metallic green scales, much like a reptile. Her legs seemed to lengthen while becoming back-jointed like that of lion and two sets of eyes appeared on her face. Whereas his were much more narrower and reptilian, her eyes remained mostly human, one set bright green while other glowed cheery red. Her hair, on the other hand, seemed to change the most. They grew in rapid pace until they were nearly 15ft long and seemed to move on their own accord. They adopted light grey metallic strand that looked like an inch strip of long, fluid metal. Her hair swayed and writhed much like snakes on the head of infamous Medusa. The metallic strands thrust into the ground, supporting her increased weight as a dozen additional limbs.

Snarling out in defiance, Aries pocketed his wand back onto its holster while charging forward and transformed into the Bone Wyrm in span of few seconds.

Two ashen wings of iron hard bone jutted out from his back, its edges unnaturally sharp. His body lengthened and grew bigger until he was hulking 7 feet tall. His arms shot forward as it grew longer with thick muscles accompanied by plates of armor like bones. His hands transformed into deadly looking claws with fingers made out of ashen bones while his legs thickened and lengthened with powerful muscles to uphold his heavy frame. His feet became four clawed feet and his chest expanded along with his lungs while ashen bone armor surrounded his chest, shoulders and trailed down to his waist to protect his vital organs. Thick muscular tail with plates of bone jutted out from the back of his hip and ended with wicked looking blade. His head became more reptilian as his mouth extended outward in a snout filled with sharp teeth. His nose changed into thin snake like slits while his hair clumped together before transforming into ashen horns that adorned his head like wicked looking crown. Two sets of eyes, one glowing eerily green while other glowing luminescent silver, appeared on his face while glowing silver sigil of Meciel burned brightly on his forehead.

With a mighty roar, the two demons clashed together.

As he drew closer, he lifted his hand and brought down the sword he still held onto while transforming. Deirdre crunched before leaping away from him in great strength as she soared into the air before landing nearly 70 feet away from him. Just as she leaped onto the air, he dashed forward, his other hand grabbing the handle of Judgment as he charged at her with two swords, one on each hands.

He used his sharp wings and brought them down in one savage motion to pierce her body but dozens of strands of metallic hair wrapped around his wings, immobilizing them. Aries snarled out in fury and spread out his arms with swords on each hands, cutting through the metallic like strands with ease. Deirdre screech in anger and pain as dozens of her metallic hair were chopped off and brought more of them up before slamming them to his chest each with a force of sledgehammer. He roared in pain as they connected and quickly jumped back. Unfortunately, this was what she wanted as she began to pummel him with her hair from the distance using its long length.

_'No beloved! Deirdre has advantage of range! You must fight her in close quarter if you are to have any hope!'_ Meciel shouted out amidst his bloodlust and fury.

Aries snarled out in anger and swung his swords and wings in brutal hacking motions at any strands of metallic hair that came within his reach. Deirdre screeched in anger and pain as he chopped more of her hair away and came close to her. Before he could raise his swords again, the metallic hair wrapped around his arms and wings to prevent him from attacking, locking him in place. Raising her leg, she kicked him in stomach and drove out his breath in a whoosh. Roaring in pain and fury, he raised his leg and kicked her back before opening his jaws and breathing liquid hellfire at her from 2 feet away.

She screeched in pain as the fires of hell washed over her body and burned her skins. Although she was covered in metallic scales, it wasn't as hard or dense like the plates of bone armor he had and it wasn't strong enough stand against the searing heat of hellfire. Still screeching, she pivoted and swung him around using her hair and slammed him to the wall with great force and jumped away from him.

Closing his jaws with the impact, Aries quickly stood back up after shaking his head to clear his head. Deirdre was again away from him and thus regaining her advantage of range. Her neck, chest, and torso was now scorched black thanks to the flames and nearly one-third of her hair was chopped in half thanks to his swords and wings. He, on the other hand, was suffering from various wounds on his chest and stomach. When her hair had slammed on to him repetitively, they were able to penetrate his plates of bone armor and thick muscles and he could feel himself weaken as blood poured out from the wounds.

_'You must stop fighting beloved. You are losing too much blood. She is far too experienced!'_ Meciel tried to reason with him.

Aries growled. Just as he was about to charge forward once again, he stiffened as he felt two more presence behind him. Emerald flames enveloped his ashen bone wings and the empty space between them. Crutching like Deirdre did before she jumped up, he flexed his muscles before quickly leaping into the air while flapping his wings of fire furiously. Twisting in the air, he turned around to face the new presence.

The two men stood before him. Their faces stern and dressed in steel plates of armor on their shoulders, forearms, and shins. On their hands, they held a broadsword that burned with silver fire that Aries instinctively shied away from. The holy knights. Bane of Denarians. The Knights of Cross have found them.

"Surrender now, Denarians." commanded the taller of the two. He had a dark skin and dark eyes and judging by his look and slight accent, he was a Russian. His very voice held power and reminded him of loud trumpets playing a single, crisp, clear note.

"Repent! You shall find redemption through repentance!" Commanded the other man. He had a dark hair with small patches of silver and well trimmed beard.

"Knights!" Deirdre spat out the word with great hatred. With that she leaped into the air and tried to flee but Aries, who was flapping in the air during the exchange, saw her bend her legs in preparation of a jump and flapped his wings before slamming into her as she took flight.

The two demons crashed in the air with thunderous sound and they both plummeted to the ground with Deirdre on the bottom. They landed with a loud crash and Aries immediately smashed the pommel of his sword onto her head while she was stunned for few seconds from the impact. Drawing back his sword, he was about to stab her when one of the Knights charged forward and brought the Sword of Cross down in a smooth arc. Aries snarled in anger as he jumped sideways to avoid the blazing sword and it ended up slashing Deirdre's leg.

She screeched in pain as the holy flame cut through even her strongest enchantments and lashed out with her metallic hair and savagely flung him away few feet. The other one, the Russian, charged at Aries and swung his sword at him but Aries lifted the sword of Meciel's previous host and met the Sword of Cross in the middle with great strength. Bright lights and dark sparks flashed between them upon contact as they pushed their weapons against each other. Aries, being in his demon form, had more strength and began pushing his blade toward the Knights when his sword began to crack from the unyielding power of holy fire.

With a loud crack, his sword _shattered_ and the Sword of Cross, without the pressure from its rival sword, continued toward his body. Aries tired to lean back while bringing one of his wings forward to block the blade but the Sword of Cross sliced through his iron-hard, bone wing with ease. He roared with pain and raised his leg before kicking the Knight away.

Flapping his remaining wing, he unsteadily jumped into the air before landing behind Deirdre, who had risen by this time, and swung Judgment toward her head with the intent to decapitate her. However, she had felt when he landed behind her by the tremor of the ground and spun around just in time to lean back to avoid her head getting chopped off but she had raised one of her arm in unconscious attempt to shield her head. Judgment connected with her arm and sliced the limb off from her body.

She screeched in pain as she stumbled back and raised her metallic hair before slamming him with it. He felt some of them pierce his body and jumped back unsteadily in pain.

Before she could retaliate, a glowing silver sword erupted from her chest. While fighting Aries after he chopped off her arm, she had forgotten about the Knight she knocked back. She was too much preoccupied by her pain and anger that she failed to hear the Knight approach her until it was too late.

Her eyes widened in shock before she screamed and writhed in agony as the holy fire poured into her. She fell forward with a thud but the sword was still impaled her body. She twitched and screamed more as the silver white flame burned away her dark powers before lying still. Light faded from her eyes and she began to transform back into her human form now that she was dead.

The Knight pulled out the sword with a grimace and panted for breath before turning his tired but determined gaze upon him. Aries snarled out in defiance and felt the Russian rise up and stand behind him while the other one stood in front of him.

_'No beloved! You must stop! Deirdre is dead and now you must flee! You are not in any shape to take on the Knights of Cross!'_ Meciel yelled in his mind.

The Russian pounced on him but his thick tail swept his feet from under him and he landed on the ground with painful thud and a grunt. The one with the beard charged forward and brought up the glowing sword before slashing at him. Aries retaliated by meeting the sword with Judgment as it began to crackle with black lightning that ran down its length.

The two legendary swords clashed against each other. The Sword of Cross against the angelic blade of a former archangel. The holy, silvery-white fire against the powerful black lightning.

Aries roared before using his superior strength to push the Knight away from him before spinning around block the attack from the Russian who had risen back up.

The next few minutes were spent in haze of bloodlust and madness as he furiously battled the Knights of Cross using Judgment. Every time the blades met, bright sparks and flashes of light ignited between them. Before long, the injuries he sustained from Deirdre and the Knights began to take its toll and his movement turned sluggish. The one with the beard ducked past his clumsy slash and slashed at his chest, the silver fire burning his chest. Aries let out his last roar of pain and agony before he slammed into the ground while the Knights stood above him with exhausted but grim expression.

_'You must transform beloved! This form is about to die! Transform back!'_

As the agony and pain drove away the haze of bloodlust and anger, he closed his eyes before letting the hellfire go. He body shimmered before transforming back into his 9 year old body. He gasped and groaned in pain as he reached out with his hand before clutching the wound on his chest. He felt something warm and wet on his fingers and saw blood.

He could feel his mind becoming numb as his consciousness began to drift away. Still clutching his chest, he feebly grabbed onto the most precious object of his life: Meciel's coin.

"Meciel." He murmured gazed up at the two shocked looking Knights.

"A child?... Yet still a Denarian...Meciel probably broke his mind... Will you kill him?"

"Going to kill me now?" Aries spat out while desperately fighting off the oncoming darkness. "Then do it. Finish me off!"

He began to cough and choked out blood while he tasting metallic taste of blood. His eyes flickered to the sky above. It was night now and the stars twinkled across the heaven. It was a beautiful sight.

"Meciel." He murmured once more as tears slowly ran down his cheeks. This was it. This is the way he was going to die.

_'Stay with me beloved. Listen to my voice Aries. Don't fall asleep no matter what. I can't heal this yet...My power is being prevented...Aries don't...Awake... Stay...Aries...Aries'_

He no longer had any strength left and the oncoming darkness, held at bay barely by his will, now enveloped him and he felt himself falling into the oblivion.

**Sorry about the wait. I had to go to Arizona for Christian missionary to help out Native Americans where there was no internet whatsoever for a week. On the bright side, I'm nearing more interesting part of the story.**


	7. The Escape and Fateful Encounter

The Escape and Fateful Encounter

Aries groaned as he slowly drifted back into the waking world. He felt the sleep gradually disappear and his muscles felt stiff from being in one position for too long, however, he felt more rested than he did before. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked as he looked up at the white ceiling. He slowly sat up as he noticed he was resting on a bed with bandages wrapped around him where the wounds were. Immediately, he felt something cold and hard around his left wrist and saw that he was handcuffed to the metal bed post. Frowning at the handcuff he took in his surroundings.

The walls were pale shade of sky blue while the door and the window was open, allowing cool, gentle breeze to come into the room. As he was observing the room, he was bombarded by the memory before he fell unconscious. Deirdre and Knights of Cross. He immediately sought comfort in Meciel's presence and panicked when he couldn't feel her presence. Frantically bringing his hand to his chest he noticed that his necklace with Meciel's coin was gone.

His breath started to quicken and he could feel the rushing of adrenaline and he never felt so alone, so powerless. He could feel the blood rushing from his face as he paled and his hands trembled with fear. He fought down the bubbling hysteria tugged on the handcuff as hard as he could. He could feel the sharp edges of handcuff digging into his skin and drawing blood but he could care less, he had to free himself and look for Meciel.

"Fuck! What the hell is this!" Aries yelled in anger as he snarled at the unyielding metal cuff.

He could feel more pain as the metal dug into his skin, resulting in more blood. Gritting his teeth in pain, he grabbed the metal cuff and used it to pull it away from the metal bed post. Unfortunately, without Meciel's help he couldn't use the hellfire or his demonic strength to break himself free.

"Hey let go of me!" He yelled out again in anger.

He could hear the footsteps getting closer and closed his eyes as he sought to rein in his emotions and regain his composure. It wouldn't do good for him if his capturers saw he was afraid or panicking. He needed to be in control of himself. Taking deep, slow breath he molded his face into blank and neutral expression.

Opening his eyes, he saw a tall, woman with golden blond hair enter the room. She was around mid 30's and very slender with stern but beautiful face. He ever so slightly raised his eyebrows in surprise as she was quite beautiful for a human although not as beautiful or attractive as Meciel or Maeve. Her cold eyes regarded with him with slight disdain and her lips were thinned with frown.

"I see you are finally awake." Said the woman.

"Who are you? And where the hell am I?" Aries asked acidly while his eyes narrowed in anger.

"My name is Charity and you are in my house." She curtly answered him.

"Am I still in Israel?" He asked curiously.

"Yes." Charity replied.

"How did I get here and how long was I out? And why the hell did you handcuff me to the bed?" Aries asked again irritably.

"My husband brought you here to heal and you were out for nearly 3 days." Charity answered him while narrowing her eyes at his obvious lack of politeness.

"Your husband?" Aries asked while suspiciously eyeing her as he digested the information.

"Yes my husband." She snapped.

Aries blinked at her attitude. "Is he the one with dark hair with small patches of silver and a beard?"

"That would be him." Charity said as she regarded him with caution.

"He's the Knight of Cross. Was he the one who stabbed me?" Aries hissed in cold anger.

"No Sanya was the one who stabbed you and you are a Denarian." Charity said equally coldly, especially the last part as if the word left a foul taste on her tongue.

_'So the Russian is the one who stabbed me.' _He thought.

"No shit. If he's the Knight of Cross and I'm a Denarian why the hell did he bring me here?" Aries snapped at her with sarcasm while matching her glare for glare.

"I do not want you here but my husband is a good man. He would not allow a child to die in front of him." She said while her face softened at the mention of her husband.

"Well good. I don't want to be here either. Just give me back my stuff and we'll never see each other again. Problem solved." Aries snorted.

Before she could reply, the door opened and 3 more people walked in. One was a boy with dark hair and dark eyes and he seemed to be around 18 or so. The other two were young girls. One of them seemed to be around his age with long blond hair tied into a ponytail with grey eyes while the other was a smaller girl with blonde pigtails and blue eyes and she seemed to be around 8.

"Mom what's going on? Is he awake?" Asked the older girl as she curiously stared into the room.

"Amanda! I told you not to come in here and Daniel, you should've known better to allow your sisters come in here." Charity scolded her children.

"I was going to stop them but they came up here before I could stop them." The boy, Daniel, said to his mom.

"We heard raised voices and were curious mom." Said the younger girl.

"Hope there is nothing to worry about." Charity sighed.

Aries cleared his throat before anyone could say anything. "As interesting this conversion is, I really don't want to stay here so why don't you give me back my stuff so I can leave?"

"Quiet demon of the night." Daniel snapped at him in cold, hard voice.

He blinked. "Demon of the night? You've been watching way too much TV. If I'm the demon of the night than you are a sad excuse of a left over sperm that had the misfortune to run down between your mother's legs." Aries sneered at him.

Daniel choked at his insult while the three females in the room were gaping at him incredulously.

_'Ha! If you are gonna insult someone, this is how you insult others you dumbass!'_ Aries sniggered mentally.

"Why you little-" Daniel snarled at him.

Aries merely smirked and was about to give another biting insult when Charity snapped at him to stop.

"My husband will decide what to do with you." Said Charity while glaring at him coldly.

"Yea I'm sure he'll choose to kill me. If this is an execution than I want a fucking spectacular last meal." Aries sneered at her while glaring right back at her. After all the shits he had been through, her glare was nothing compare to the look of murderous rage and hatred his enemies gave him.

Charity looked at him in askance as she covered her youngest daughter's ears from his use of profanity.

The older girl, Amanda, scrunched her nose in distaste before looking at him curiously.

"You're like me. You are a wand-user." She stated as she took out her wand before pointing at him warily. Her grip seemed awkward as if she didn't have much experience holding it.

When he raised an eyebrow, she continued. "We found 2 wands from you."

"Brilliant piece of detective work Sherlock. Here, I would give you a cookie for your answer but I'm handcuffed to the bed." Aries retorted sarcastically.

Amanda frowned at his sarcasm but replied nonetheless. "You don't look like a demon. You look like a normal boy." She said curiously.

"Oh, you would be surprised how much of a demon I can turn into." Smirked Aries as he thought of his Bone Wyrm form.

Turning his gaze back to Charity he asked "Are you the one who healed me?"

"No, it was someone else. You'll see him with my husband." Said Charity.

_'I need to know where Meciel is as well as my weapons so I can escape. I'm not looking forward to meeting the bastards of Knights.'_ He thought grimly.

Taking a deep breath like he when meditated, he lowered his mental shield and allowed their thoughts to flow into him. Unlike Legilimency, which required a wand and eye contact, this did not require them and could be used any time he wanted. Meciel just called it Telepathy, the art of reading one's mind without invading other's minds. Now, it would prove to be extremely useful as he was unarmed.

"Where are my weapons?" Aries asked while particularly focusing on Charity's mind.

"Somewhere hidden and away from you." Charity glared at him but Aries smirked inwardly at the victory.

By asking her the question, he had subconsciously brought out the needed information to the forefront of her mind without her realizing it. It is a natural response to bring out secrets to one's mind when asked about the said secret and it was done almost unconsciously and, to a telepath like him, an extremely useful and easy method to obtain crucial information.

_'So they are in the house.'_ He inwardly relieved a sigh.

"And Meciel's coin?" Aries asked undeterred.

A flash of safe room in the house flickered onto her mind but it was gone in an instant, but it was more than enough information for him.

Meciel is still in the house! _'Hold tight Meciel. I'm coming for you.'_ He whispered in his mind while the tension, worry, and fear that had been eating at him from the inside was instantly gone.

Charity frowned at his question but her eyes slowly widened as she realized something.

"You weren't enslaved. You picked up the coin on free will didn't you?" She looked at him with surprise and icy coldness.

"Well no shit woman. Why the hell do you think I'm asking about Meciel in the first place unless I _like_ being a Denarian?" Snapped Aries with sarcasm oozing from every word.

"My husband thought that by removing the coin, you would be free from the Fallen's presence. He thought it would save you from her." Her voice hardened with disgust at his proclamation.

Aries let out a dark laughter at her words. It was a laughter that no child should be capable of and the other four occupants in the room inwardly shivered at the darkness in his laughter.

"Free me? From Meciel? Don't be ridiculous. Meciel was the one who _saved_ me from my previous life. I knew what I was signing up for when I took up her coin but I couldn't care less. And now, you took her away from me and condemned me to live a life I despised! I was powerless and weak until I met her and she made me strong! She made me into who I am today and I like it!" Aries furiously snarled out at her.

"She's a Fallen. She's manipulating you and when she's done with you, she'll devour your soul and control you." Charity replied although her voice shook slightly from her shock at the child in front of her who was not at all childlike.

"Control me? Oh please, Meciel was never the one in charge of me. Only I am in charge here and if she wanted to control me, she would've done it already when I was much younger, much weaker." Said Aries with derisive snort.

"Why do you defend her? You do realize that your soul would burn forever in the pits of Hell at the end. But there is still a hope for you, all you have to do is to forsake the Fallen and find redemption from the God." Charity said in a soft voice as she looked at the child with small pity.

His emerald green eyes blazed in anger but he gritted his teeth and fought his fury down. How dare does this woman insult Meciel! She doesn't know what Meciel had done for him and foolishly believe that God is better than her when He was the one who abandoned him to his cruel relatives!

Deciding to humor the woman and keep her off balance, he replied back in a soft, yet deadly voice. "So what you are saying is that I should forsake my so called evil ways and Meciel. That I should pray to God once more and find repentance and redemption?"

Charity gave him a stiff yet resolute nod. She was bewildered by his sudden change in demeanor and her children were looking at the scene with horrified fascination but were enraptured by the morbid drama unfolding before their eyes.

"And according to you, God is merciful and never abandons his people right? He always helps those who are in need. He is righteous and does not tolerate evil. Hmmm?" Aries asked in his soft, dangerous tone. His emerald green eyes were now frozen solid and looked even chillier than the coldest of the snowstorm in Nevernever. His dark, piercing gaze pinned the occupants of the room where they were.

"Our heavenly Father is all that is good in this world. He loved us so much that he sent us his only son to be crucified on the cross just to save us." Charity replied with resolute faith.

"If He is so loving as you say, then it is only natural that He listens to those who pray to Him in their greatest hour of needs right? He listens to their pleas for help and gives them what they need right?" Aries continued to ask in soft tone.

"Yes, that's correct." Charity nodded warily.

Aries smiled victoriously. The smile was cold and feral, without any joy or happiness. It was devoid of anything positive but it was one of those dangerous and bloodthirsty smile predators gave to their prey before ripping them apart. Charity and her children couldn't help but to flinch and shiver at his feral grin.

"Then why is it that He never answered my prayers? Why did He never send any help during the 7 years of my life when I needed Him? Why did He stay silent when I begged Him for help? Where was He when I was abused for the first 7 years of my life? Where was He when my uncle beat me near to death every time? When my aunt belittled, scolded, slapped, and called me a freak? Where was He when my cousin bullied me all throughout school and never allowed me to make a friend? Where was he during all those times when I cried out for help? A miracle? Why did he never help me in my greatest hour of need?" Aries whispered dangerously.

Charity's eyes widened as she stepped back in shock and horror etched upon her face. She had paled considerably during his questions and her mouth of agape but no sounds came out. Her children, Amanda, Hope and Daniel were looking at him with mixture of fear and shock.

"I once was a Christian and a firm believer of God. I prayed and prayed for his help for 7 long years as I suffered at the hands of my relatives. My parents have abandoned me and left me on their doorstep where I was treated like a slave and a dirt beneath their shoes. I never did anything wrong and I kept my faith yet He never lifted a finger to help me. Why didn't He help me?" He asked in vindictive pleasure.

The feeling was intoxicating. To see this so called Christian family despair before him. He reveled in their misery and shock as Charity opened and closed her mouth like a fish to try to answer his questions.

"Well? Aren't you gonna answer me? If you're God is as merciful and loving as you proclaimed than why didn't He help me at all?" He mocked her with a dark, savage grin.

Charity didn't have an answer. She stared at him with shock and pity as she stood frozen and her children weren't any better.

"You don't have an answer do you?" Aries sneered at her. "Where is your so called loving God now? He cares nothing but your praise and worship and abandoned an innocent boy to his cruel fates." He hissed in fury.

"I realized my errors. I waited and waited for a help that would never come and I suffered the consequences for it. That's when I realized that God will not help me. Ever. If God will not rescue me, than I would rescue myself. He hates me. And I hate him back." Aries snarled in anger.

"But in my greatest hour of need, Meciel came to me. She pulled me out of the darkness that was my life and brought me back up the surface where the lights were. My uncle had stabbed me with a kitchen knife and I was slowly dying from a punctured lung." Aries idly commented.

Charity and her kids paled at his words. Abuse was one thing but outright murder? Just what had those relatives of his done to him?

"As I lay dying, I met Meciel. She said she would protect me from all those who wished to harm me. She said she would make me strong and powerful so that no one would ever hurt me again. She helped me take vengeance on my so called relatives." Here, Aries smiled cruelly as the memory of Dursley's slaughter came to him.

At their horrified look, he chuckled darkly. He took satisfaction and pleasure from their expressions.

"I ripped them apart one by one and I watched as they screamed and begged for my mercy. I ripped apart my cousin first so his fucking parents would feel the pain as their precious child was ripped apart limb by limb. I grabbed my aunt by her head and bashed her skull against the wall until her skull carved in. And finally, I tortured my uncle until I burnt him alive inside out by the fires of hell. It was high unlike anything I ever felt! I never felt so alive! So satisfied until I slaughter them all in blood and fire." Aries cackled in laughter.

"B-But they were still humans. No one deserves to die like that!" Said Amanda after overcoming his stammer at the beginning.

"They deserved everything I had done to them! After all they had done to me, they reaped what they have sown! People do say that Karma is a bitch!" Aries snapped at the idiotic girl.

"Mercy is the sign of righteousness." Daniel said grimly.

Aries snorted. "I don't give a shit about being righteous. Mercy is the sign of weakness. Mercy is for the weak. I didn't survive this long by being merciful to others, not with enemies like the Order of Blackened Denarius."

"Killing them was my first act as a Denarian and when I look back, I don't feel any regret. Only thing I feel is satisfaction and ecstasy unlike anything I ever felt." Aries smirked.

Sneering at their horror struck expression he continued. "While God never helped, Meciel was there every step of the way. She protected me, nurtured me, and taught me everything I needed to survive in this world. She is the only one I have who loves me back. And I will never let her go."

"You say Meciel is evil but look at what God had done to me, or the lack of what he had done. He allowed me to suffer while Meciel granted me the power that I needed. So really, who is the evil one here?" Aries finished.

They stood still as Aries glared at them with hatred and anger. Charity stood still as a stone as she tried to process everything he had said. His story and words challenged her belief to its very core and she kept telling herself that this was the Devil's way to challenging her belief but not matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come up with a suitable answer to his questions.

_'This is the perfect moment. They are sufficiently distracted and I just need to make free myself from this blasted handcuff.'_ Thought Aries.

Concentrating, he glared at the handcuff that tied him to the bed and willed it to free him. Before his trip to the Diagon Alley, he had to survive out on the streets with no wands. He knew that he had magic and that sometimes, magic reacted to his wishes despite not having a wand. Meciel realized the importance of wandless-magic and together they had constantly sought to master that ability.

They eventually found out that magic reacted to his will and emotions. Powerful emotions allowed his dormant magic to surface to heed his call or protect him while his will controlled it in the way he wanted. It was still difficult but he could manage it without too much of a problem.

Earlier, he was too panicked by Meciel's absence to remember that he still had his wandless-magic at disposal but now with cooler head, he would be able to make use of it.

At his silent command, the handcuff snapped open and Aries jumped away from the bed and pounced upon surprise occupants of the room. Before they could even blink, he had snatched the wand from Amanda's now weak grip and pointed at Charity before snarling out "_Stupefy!_"

A jet of red light slammed onto her chest and she crumpled to the floor unconscious. Before Daniel could snap out of his shock, Aries also stunned him as well as Hope. Pivoting on his feet, he spun around and pointed the wand to horrified Amanda.

"Now that I'm free, you are going to take me to the room where they have stored my stuff and Meciel's coin." Aries hissed at her.

"You killed them! How could you just kill them!" Amanda stammered out as tears began to leak out of her eyes.

"I stunned them you idiot! They are just unconscious! The last thing I need is for them to get in my way." Aries snapped at her irritably.

Amanda blinked. "They...They are not dead?" She asked hopefully.

"No they are not. Now shut the hell up and lead the way!" Aries barked out his command.

Amanda looked fearfully at him and he sighed in irritation and impatience. "Oh screw this! I'll lead the way myself!"

He grabbed her arm and spun her around before placing her in front of him and he roughly pushed her out of the room. Amanda stumbled out and barely avoided tripping on her own feet. Placing the wand behind her neck he quickly made their way across the hallway as he reviewed the memory he glimpsed from Charity's mind until they stopped in front of linen closet. Clicking on the light, he could see the stacks of towels and sheets that were folded neatly on the shelves and stared intently at the back wall. He could see a small section of the wall that looked misaligned at the corner and could feel the tingling sense of magic around it.

Gesturing at the panel he order her to open it. "It's probably protected by magic your dad used against me. I shouldn't touch it."

Amanda eyed it warily as she stuck her fingers in the small groove as she fiddled around with something before hearing something click and the entire wall shuddered as Amanda pushed it aside. Looking into the hidden room dimly lit by candles he could see the form of his sword wrapped around a bloody piece of clothes.

"Now go inside and bring out _everything_ that was stolen from me. Especially Meciel's coin." Said Aries while pointing the wand at her.

"Are-Are you going to kill me after?" Amanda stammered fearfully at him.

"No, you are not worth killing. I only kill those who try to kill me first or piss me off." Aries snorted dismissively.

Amanda bit her lower lips in hesitation before going into the room and picking up the bundle that was wrapped around the sword. Turning around she walked out of the room and Aries led them out of the closet and down the hallway before making their way to the bedroom again.

Immediately closing the door, he gestured at her to go to the far side of the room after dropping the bundle off on the bed. Carefully maneuvering so that she didn't step on her family, she warily looked at him.

"Is there anyone else in this house?" Aries asked lowly.

"Well mom, Hope and Daniel are here." She gestured at the unconscious forms. "Alicia and Matthew are out. Harry is in bed and Dad and Sanya are out along with other Harry. Molly is out in her new apprenticeship." Amanda rattled off nervously.

"They are all your family?" Aries asked incredulously.

"Well Sanya and other Harry.." Amanda trailed off as Aries let out a chuckle of amusement.

"What's with Catholic parents and their use of contraceptives? Looks like they were true after all." Aries commented idly.

Ignoring Amanda's look of disgust and exclamation, he unwrapped the bundle and flicked the wand at the bloody clothes as the blood stains faded and mended any cuts. He quickly reached for his own wands and sighed in content as familiar power rushed back into him. Still keeping one of his wand pointed at her, he quickly attached the wand holsters and pocketed her wand.

Clearing his throat he gestured her to turn around and began to take off pajama shirt he was wearing. Amanda blinked in confusion and let out of small "eep" as she turned around with blushing cheeks in embarrassment.

"You can turn around now if you want." Said Aries while amusement was obviously in his voice.

He checked his pistol and loaded bullets into the chamber in precise and well-practiced movement. Lastly, he reached for Judgment and strapped it onto his back.

He stared intently at the small rectangular box in front of him and reached out with slight tremble in his hand as he tried to open it. The box was locked and refused to open for him.

Snorting in annoyance, Aries pointed his wand at the box and whispered "_Alohomora_."

The box snapped open with a click and inside laid Meciel's coin as well as the coiled chain of his necklace. His expression quickly changed as tremendous relief flowed into him. Meciel was safe! With trembling hands, he grabbed the coin almost reverently and closed his eyes as searing Hellfire poured into him again, filling him with rush of darkness and heat that sent pleasurable shiver onto his spine. He let out a soft and satisfied sigh as he felt warm but vast presence, decidedly feminine, swept into his mind.

"Meciel." Aries whispered.

In a soft glow of light, Meciel appeared in his mind in all her glory. Her beautiful silver eyes were bright and danced with happiness and relief as she gave him a delighted smile.

_'You are not dead.'_ Meciel whispered. _'When you passed out, I feared the worst as the Knights took me away from you.'_

"It's good to have you back Meciel." Aries gave her a genuine smile.

_'It's good to be back beloved.' _Meciel smiled back as she reached out with her hand and stroked his hair in a soothing maternal gesture.

Aries closed his eyes and leaned into her hand as Meciel quickly reviewed his memory.

"Who are you talking to?" Amanda curiously asked him. She had watched as he grabbed the coin with trembling hands and since then, he had been talking to the empty air beside him and seemed to be leaning into something.

Aries immediately snapped out and scowled at the girl darkly. His irritation and annoyance clear on his face as she backed up fearfully.

"Just because you can't see her doesn't mean she's not here. Only way to see her is if you pick up the coin." Aries snapped at her with annoyance.

"Oh." Amanda trailed off.

"Now that I have everything. It's time to leave." Aries briskly walked forward.

"Wha-What now?" Amanda asked with small tremor.

Raising an eyebrow, he replied. "I meant what I said. "I'm not going to kill you. I'm leaving and hopefully, we'll never see each other again."

He opened the door and walked out of the room. Descending downstairs he quickly passed by the kitchen and left Amanda's wand on the small stand next to the front door. Stepping outside, he felt the tiny humming of air around him due to the holy ward around him. Luckily it didn't harm him since he was probably invited in by the family.

_'Did you mean what you said to Charity? That you love me?'_ Meciel asked him curiously.

"Every word. I'll never let you go. Not ever." Aries nodded at her while giving her a warm smile.

_'I'll hold you onto to that my beloved Aries.'_ Meciel smiled at him and he felt her warmth spread throughout his body.

.oOo.

It had taken several hours for him to make his way back to the hotel where he had stayed before. Upon entering the room, Nightfang had frantically greeted him as he was panicking when Aries had gone missing for several days. After calming the snake down, he was given a severe tongue lashing from the snake and several threats to bite him on his family jewels. Meciel had been no help as she sniggered in his head and simply gave him "You deserved it" look.

After giving Nightfang few rats he caught, Aries quickly packed up his belongings and put them on his backpack before leaving the hotel. Now that he had retrieved Judgment and got into a fight with Deirdre and Knights of Cross, Aries was eager to leave this holy land behind as quickly as he could.

_'With any luck you wouldn't encounter the Knights or other Denarians.'_ Said Meciel.

.oOo.

A day later, Aries was still traveling by foot. He didn't want to travel into Nevernever again not after his last encounter with Maeve.

_'Beloved, I think someone is following us. I don't know who but the person was following our trail for a while.'_ Mecil cautioned him.

"Is it the Knights or Denarians?" Aries asked her anxiously. After his recent fight, he wasn't all that keen in getting into another battle. Although he was fully healed, he preferred to avoid the fight for now.

_'I don't know. I don't think it's the Denarians and the presence is very faint.'_ Meciel said.

Aries had picked up the pace but after 4 hours later, the he was still being followed and the tracker was gaining on him.

"Well fuck this. We can't out run this bastard so might as well fight him." He growled.

He quickly looked around for a place to ambush and climbed up the rooftop overlooking the wide ground below. After half hour of waiting a man came into view. He was 6 and a half feet tall with lanky build. He had short dark hair and dark eyes with black leather duster. His sharp eyes spotted him holding a staff and silver pentacle amulet around his neck as well as a bracelet.

Meciel was right, this man was hiding his aura but due to their closer proximity, Aries could feel his vast magical aura and immediately recognized him as another magic user. He grimaced as he thought how to deal with this problem.

The stranger looked at the roof he was on and calmly called out to him. "Come out. I know you are hiding up there."

Reluctantly, Aries rose to his feet and jumped down from the rooftop, being a Denarian definitely had its perks as he didn't get injured.

Eyeing the man closely, Aries asked him. "Who are you?"

"Dresden. Harry Dresden. I'm a member of the White Council." The man answered him.

Meciel immediately grew alert. The White Council was a large worldwide organization of human wizard and was seen as their governing body, much like International Confederation of Wizards for wand-wizards except that the White Council controlled the true-wizards. The ones who didn't use wands.

"And what does the White Council want with me? I'm a wand-wizard so I'm out of their jurisdiction." Aries said while closely observing him.

The man didn't look surprised. "I know and you are a Denarian. Carpenters told me much."

"Carpenters?" Aries asked while lifting an eyebrow.

"The family you were with just recently." Dresden answered him.

Aries stiffened. "How do you know them?" He asked.

"I'm a family friend. You sure made a mess when you left." Dresden replied while curiously eyeing him back.

"You are quite young to be a Denarian." Dresden commented.

"And what do you want with me?" Aries asked warily.

"Couple days ago, Michael contacted me about a break in at the base of Knights Templar beneath the Dome of the Rock. Someone sneaked in and killed several guards before stealing something from the Vault. Also, he saw Deirdre battling someone, another Denarian. That was you wasn't it?" Dresden said while narrowing his eyes at him, while especially eyeing the sword strapped onto the boy's back.

"Stealing would imply that I took something from them that originally belonged to them. The correct term would be reclaiming. This sword belonged to Meciel when she was an archangel and it can sense that I, through Meciel, is its rightful wielder. When she fell, it was lost and it seemed Knights Templar were keeping it from her. So technically, Knights Templar were the ones who stole Judgment from Meciel." Aries coldly replied back.

Dresden blinked at the information. "And yet, you still murdered the guards." He pressed.

"They shot at me first. I was content to just reclaim Judgment but they started spraying bullets at me so I killed them in retaliation." Aries snapped at him. Seeing a frown at Dresden's face, he snorted "What was I supposed to do? Go up to the front desk and say 'Hi! I'm your friendly neighborhood hellspawn and I'm here to reclaim the ancient blade of an archangel. So would you kindly give it to me?'" Aries said sarcastically.

He chuckled at his sarcasm. "You are a sharp one kid. Much stronger and intelligent than I expected." Said Dresden with slight amusement.

"If I was a normal kid, I would stutter and blush at your praise and say 'thank you.' But seeing as I'm not, I'll settle with keep your hands to yourself since I just don't swing that way. The last few who tried ended up being ripped apart." Aries smirked darkly.

Dresden almost choked at what he said. "You know, you could be little more grateful to the person who saved your life." Dresden said disapprovingly.

"What do you mean by saving my life?" Aries asked him sharply.

"I'm the one who healed you after Michael and Sanya brought you to their home. I couldn't let a child die. Even if he is a Denarian." Said Dresden while shaking his head.

"Well I couldn't stay at the Carpenter's house until you arrived. You would've taken Meciel away from me. Just be glad I didn't kill them." Aries said stiffly.

"I know. Charity told me what happened. I was quite surprised." Dresden admitted.

_'Beloved. I can sense something familiar about him. I can feel the lingering effect of hellfire from his aura. It's almost as if he's a Denarian.'_ Meciel cautioned him.

Aries frowned at the information. "You are a Denarian aren't you? Meciel can feel the trace of hellfire from you. How is it that a Denarian like you can be a member of White Council?" , he said while looking at him suspiciously.

Dresden stiffened slightly but it was enough for Aries. "Yes, I suppose you could say that although I'm not exactly a complete Denarian like you." Admitted Dresden.

"What do you mean by that?" Aries asked curiously.

"The Fallen I have come in contact is Lasciel. Although I touched her coin, I didn't accept her offer of becoming a Denarian. So shadow of Lasciel resides in my mind." Said Dresden.

_'Lasciel is known as the Temptress among the Denarians. Like me, she is a black sheep of the Order of Blackened Denarius. Although she isn't as hated as me.'_ Meciel informed him.

"Is that so? I admit, you make a quite an interesting conversation but we are straying from the topic. What do you want with me?" Aries asked again.

"I originally came to investigate you to see if you are a threat but after getting into fight with Deirdre and sparing the Carpenters, you are not what I expected of a Denarian." Dresden admitted.

"Meciel had bit of a fallout with the Order of Blackened Denarius. They hate her and she hates them back. And I did chop off an arm from Deirdre." Said Aries with a savage smile at the last part. "I'm the Denarian renegade." Aries said proudly.

Dresden observed him closely as if he's weighing his options. "I assume Meciel told you about the rules of the Old World and Life Debts?" Dresden asked lightly.

"She did." Aries answered warily. He didn't like where this was heading.

"Then I would like to hire you to fulfill the Life Debt you owe me." Declared Dresden.

"What? What do you mean hire me?" Aries exclaimed in surprise.

"I would like to hire you to destroy the Order of Blackened Denarius as well as help me out on my jobs." Dresden clarified.

Meciel gave a start of surprise. _'Be very wary beloved. I don't know if it would be a good idea. While eliminating the Order of Blackened Denarius would certainly be a welcome chance, you are not yet powerful enough to do so.'_

"As much as I would like to take you up on that offer, I'm not exactly powerful enough to take on the Order of Blackened Denarius or whatever jobs you have." Said Aries with frown.

"I know but I can obviously tell you have skill and power needed. You were able to sneak into the base of Knights Templar and Michael told me you were able to hold your ground against Deirdre as well as himself and Sanya and you are only a child." Said Dresden.

Aries carefully thought over what Dresden said. It did seem like a good offer despite its daunting prospects. "And what's in it for you? What do you gain out of all this?" He asked suspiciously.

"A chance to eliminate a threat to the world." Dresden said.

Aries stayed quiet and conversed with Meciel for few moments. "Alright, I'll accept the contract and fulfill the Life Debt but only if you teach me magic among other things." As Dresden was about to respond, he raised his hand to stop him and quickly continued.

"If I am to do the dirty work for you, the White Council and the Knights of Cross, I'll need to become much stronger than I am now. I'm going need every skill you know to take out such a dangerous enemies. After all, the stronger I become, the less blood you and your friends will shed since I'll end up doing all the hard work for you." Said Aries.

_'And score! If I'm going to fulfill this ridiculous, half assed Life Debt, I might as well learn everything from him and get stronger.'_ Aries crowed mentally.

Meciel chuckled_. 'I can sense that he is very powerful and it will be a good chance to learn from a powerful wizard. Although he is not a wand-wizard like yourself, he can still teach you magic as well as other useful things. But do be careful beloved, it's a dangerous game you are playing. We don't know if he will betray you later on or not.'_ Warned Meciel.

Dresden had a thoughtful look on his face as he mulled over his words. "Very well, I'll teach you what you need to become stronger but you must swear Thrice Bound Oath to only use it to combat evil. I will not have you use what I taught you for evil purposes." Dresden declared.

Aries inwardly cursed. He might need such skills to use against the Knights of Cross or the White Council later on. "Fine, but I do reserve the right to retaliate if they are the ones to attack me first." Said Aries while seeking to amend his demand.

Dresden slightly frowned but nodded in acceptance.

"So do we have an agreement?" Asked Aries while holding out his hand.

"We have an agreement." Dresden reached out and clasped his hand for handshake and sealed the deal.

"So what's your name kid?" Dresden asked curiously.

"Aries Angelos." Said Aries.

"Come. We have much to work on." Said Dresden as he turned on his heels and walked away.


	8. The Vampire Courts and The Serpent King

**Sorry about the wait. It was a pain trying to search for the names of cool spells and I had bit of trouble describing the battle in detail as well as dealing with my laziness.**

The Vampire Courts and The Serpent King

5 years later...

It has been several years since Aries agreed to go with Dresden by accepting his offer. Now nearly 15, he lost his boyish look and appeared more like an adult. As Dresden promised, he had immediately taken him under his wing and taught Aries all that he would need to defeat the Order of Blackened Denarius. While Meciel still took the bulk of teaching him, Dresden surprised him by teaching him quite few tricks that surprised him from time to time.

He now had more complete control over hellfire and his magical learning also progressed enough for him to be considered quite powerful by wand-wizards. Dresden took him around the world as they hunted down other Denarians when they weren't distracted by Dresden's detective work and Aries kept tabs on the happening of the magical world through Faes he summoned.

Flashback

_Aries looked at the small Fae in front of him with mixture of amusement and disgust as it tore through the fruits voraciously. It was a small figure only about 6 inches tall with silver dragonfly's wings on her back. She was humanoid and beautiful, given that she was a Fae, along with reddish-pink hair and soft silver glow of her Fae magic. Her eyes, a bright blue set of orbs, had soulless look in them. She was quite cute but lacked any table manner judging by the way fruit juice splattered on her clothes._

_Right now she was greedily eating the fruits as she chatted animatedly._

_"But Benjamin and Neville thought they could find the Heir of Slytherin. They apparently failed rather spectacularly and Dumbledore and others had to go and kill the beast." The Fae rambled on._

_"That's nice Cessbulby. Is there any news on the Order of Blackened Denarius?" Aires asked her._

_"Well Nicodemus is pretty pissed that Deirdre died and he's fighting against other Fallens who refuses to follow him. Maeve watched your fight against Deirdre and Knights and she was very amused." The Fae, apparently named Cessbulby, continued to inform him._

_"She was quite impressed that you were able to hold your ground against Deirdre and let alone chop her arm off as well as fight against 2 Knights of Cross alone." Cessbulby said while idly licking off the juice on her fingers._

_"Well I did tell her that I am quite awesome." Aries boasted._

_"You know, she seems quite interested in you. When you got stabbed by the Knight, she grew quite angry but got happy again when she saw you were alive." Said Cessbulby as she looked over at him._

_"Are you going to sport with her? Cause she sports all the time." She asked with sly smile._

_Meciel laughed in his mind while Aries blushed as he knew what Faes meant by "Sporting." His mouth ran dry by doing something that intimate with the beautiful Winter Lady._

_Clearing his throat, he ignored her comment and asked another question. "Is there anything else interesting?"_

_"Nope, nothing." Cessbulby cheerfully said while rubbing her slightly protrude belly. Despite her small size, she could stomach a large amount of food._

_"Well Cessbulby, I do hope to talk to you again." Said Aries while giving her a small smile._

_"Gotta go! My friend told me that they captured a Summer Fae in the Winter land and they are going to tear her wings off!" Cessbulby chriped excitedly._

_In a soft glow of lights and sparkling dust, she disappeared while Aries blinked at what she said._

Flashback Ends

Aries yawned as he lazily looked around the apartment he was staying in. He followed Dresden and lived with him at his Chicago apartment but it wasn't long before he moved out and got his own place. It was quite luxurious with fur rugs, silk sheets, a large bed and expensive cabinet along with polished oak table. Various runes and circles were inscribed onto the ground and the walls as a protection while Judgment was leaning against the wall. His 2 wands and his customized, ornate black and gold pistol named Hades, laid on his desk. He let out a content sigh as he fondly remembered how he got the money he needed to buy this place. Meciel also chuckled in his mind as he took a trip down the memory lane.

Flashback

_It's been 2 years since Aries joined Dresden. Currently, he was back in London for a brief business and decided to pay a visit long overdue. After some digging around, he learned that Marge Dursley, a large overweight sister of Vernon Dursley, had inherited her brother's money. She occasionally came to visit her brother and delighted in making Aries's life miserable. She was an unpleasant and arrogant woman with substantial wealth as she gave her nephew Dudley expensive gifts while gloating at Aries. She had a career in breeding bulldogs and lived with 12 dogs. Her favorite was a bulldog named Ripper who she occasionally brought with her and chased Aries around trying to bite him._

_He was currently outside her house while carefully spying her movements and schedule. He longed to blast open her front door and beat her up senseless for everything she did to him. He wanted to torture her and see her blood flow as she screamed in agony and beg for death._

_'Soon beloved. Be patient for now as you will extract your revenge. Like her pathetic brother, she will scream before you kill her. But first, we need to ruin her.' Meciel soothed his burning fury._

_'Yes. Just little longer than she'll face my wrath.' Aries chuckled darkly._

_Flicking out his wand, he stalked to the front door and opened it with unlocking charm. Slipping inside, he waved his wand and murmured silencing ward around the house. Smiling darkly, he strode past the kitchen and into the living room where he found Marge Dursley sitting on the couch along with her favorite bulldog that loved to bite him, Ripper._

_She was lot like her brother: large, beefy, purple-faced and even had slight moustache. She had shoulder length blond hair and quite ugly to look at. She immediately spotted him and she yelled out at him._

_"Who are you? How dare you come into my house uninvited! Ripper get him!" Marge commanded her dog._

_Ripper jumped out of the couch and growled at him threateningly. Aries let out a sinister chuckle and turned his piercing, cold emerald eyes at the large woman._

_"Ahhh come now Marge, you used to visit occasionally along with that fatass of your brother. I see that you have grown more retarded since the Dursley's death." Mocked Aries._

_Marge looked closely at him with her beady eyes before they widened in surprise and recognition. "Yo-You are that freak! I thought you had died but looks like you are still alive!"_

_"Go get him Ripper!" She commanded her dog._

_Ripper was sniffing at him and it seemed to have recognized Aries's scent as the boy it used to bite. However, it sensed something terrifying from Aries but at its owner's command, leaped at him with a snarl. Aries merely sneered coldly at it before drawing his leg back and kicking it across the room. Ripper yelped in pain as he was violently flung across the room from the powerful kick before smashing against the wall with painful crack._

_"Ripper!" Marge gaped it him before getting up her fat ass as she lunged at him with a roar of fury._

_Aries let out a dark laughter as he stepped forward to meet the giant woman with a fist in her face. His fist collided against her face and he heard a satisfying crack as he broke her nose. Marge staggered back few steps despite her weight due to his demonic strength and was flung to the side as he lifted his leg and kicked the side of her head._

_As she laid on the ground in daze, she painfully looked up at him. Aries sneered down at her._

_"How does it feel Marge? As your once weakling nephew-in-law give you a smack down? You are pathetic just like your sorry excuse of brother. Did you know that your brother and his family squealed like pigs when I butchered them?" Aries asked with vindictive pleasure._

_Marge let out a gasp of surprise. "That's right. I'm the one who killed them. It was wonderful let me tell you. I killed your precious nephew first by ripping him limb by limb before his parents. Then I grabbed that horse-faced bitch Petunia and smashed her head against the wall until her skull caved in. Then I killed your fat assed brother by burning him inside out!" Aries cackled at her._

_With a roar of rage, Marge pushed herself from the floor and tried to tackle him but Aries merely stomped at her face. Marge screamed in pain._

_"Nobody will hear you scream. As much as I would like to kill you right now, I will delay your death so that I can rob everything from you." Aries snarled at her._

_"Obliviate." Said Aries while pointing his wand at her._

_He wiped out this memory and proceeded to heal her injuries much to his distaste but it needed to be done for his plan if she was to walk outside. He then placed variety of the strongest compulsion charm on her as he didn't know any mind controlling spells yet like Imperius curse. The spells gave her rather unnatural urge to sell her house, cars, and all her properties as well as empty all her money from the bank._

_With hellfire singing in his veins, he walked out of the house._

_In order to sate his burning bloodlust and to give Marge time to liquidate all her possessions into money, he decided to visit his childhood bullies. With Dudley gone, it seemed that his gang of bullies had lost its leader but Aries still could observe that they went around bullying other kids. Piers Polkiss, Dennis, Gordon, and Malcom were still bullies despite the time passed._

_Aries followed their movements from afar before extracting his vengeance on them. He single-handly beat up every single one of them in an abandoned alley and broke several of their bones in rather painful manner. They each had broken arms, legs, and quite few cracked ribs as well as skulls. While they were on the ground moaning in pain, he took out his magically enhanced dagger and proceeded to carve the word "BULLY" onto their forehead._

_Their screams of pain were like music to his ears and he chuckled darkly the entire time. Because it was magically enhanced dagger, the scar would not fade by any muggle means and they were stuck with it until their death._

_He waited few more days before Marge sold all her possessions and took out everything she had saved. She put everything in two large suitcases and was waiting in her house._

_He then ended up beating her to the point of death with his bare fists. While magic was useful, it didn't feel as good as using own fists. Ripper once again growled at him but after few good kicks and broken ribs, it was panting in the ground in pain._

_As his last act of vengeance, he grabbed Marge and Ripper and apparated to Africa._

_"Where are we?" Marge murmured weakly as she clutched her broken body._

_"We are in Africa." Aries commented idly as he ignored his light-headness and a smug smirk curved on his lips when he saw few lions moving toward where they were._

_"Take a good look around. It will be your last sight before you are mauled by lions." Aries sneered at her._

_"What-" Marge trailed off as her eyes widened at the sight of lions around them and her face paled. Ripper was whimpering in fear from obviously bigger predators._

_"Know that I am your destruction. I killed your brother and his family and now you are about to die as well. So I'll say the same thing I said Vernon before I killed him." Aries smirked at her._

_"You reap what you've sown. Blood for blood. Debt for debt. And evil for evil." Said Aries._

_As Aries apparated away, the last thing he heard from Marge was her terrified scream and Ripper's whimper as the lions pounced on them._

Flashback Ends

After apparating back to London, he was panting in exhaustion but the satisfaction and ecstasy he felt were more than enough to put a smile on his face. He then grabbed the two trunks with a large sum of money inside and deposited in his account in Gringotts.

_'As much as those Dursleys were a failure, they were certainly useful for one thing: they gave us several million pounds and allowed us to buy this apartment.'_ Meciel chuckled.

"Well I can't argue with that." Aries smirked.

At that moment his cellphone started ringing. Putting the device to his ears he said "What's up?"

"Aries, we got a new case. Get ready and meet me at my apartment in 15 min." Dresden's voice called out.

"Is that so? I hope it's something more interesting than last two cases when we ended up just tracking down some amateur murderers." Aries drawled in bored voice.

Dresden chuckled. "Oh it's something much more interesting this time. Now get ready."

"Yeah whatever." Aries grunted and ended the call.

15 minutes later, Aries was at Dresden's apartment along with Nightfang and scowled at him. "This better not be another one of your boring cases."

"Oh don't worry. This time, we will be dealing with vampires." Dresden rolled his eyes.

"Vampires? Which court are we dealing with?" Aries immediately perked up.

"I'm going to see my half brother." Dresden said.

At Aries's wicked grin, he mere sighed. Ever since when he first took Aries to the job he accepted from the White Court, Aries had been quite eager to see the vampires from the White Court, especially those of the House Raith.

Vampires were divided into 3 different courts: the White Court, the Red Court, and the Black Court. Although there was a fourth court named the Jade Court, they were very reclusive and remained in Asia and Far East.

Among the vampires, the White Court is the most human like group of vampires. They are born as a vampire rather than being turned into one and are very similar to succubi and incubi as they feed off the emotions and life force of their prey. They are for all intents and purposes, humans until their inner vampire manifests itself sometime around their age of maturity. There are different Houses within the White Court, each comprising of close-knit family, much like a clan. These different houses squabble and struggle to become the dominant power and as result, there are much infighting between the Houses but House Raith is considered to be the most powerful.

The main difference between the Houses is the choice of emotion they feed upon. Those of House Raith feed upon lust and are considered as sexual predators. They are blessed with supernatural good looks and psychic aura to attract both men and women much like the famous Veelas. They usually engage in sex with their prey as during the intercourse, or any direct physical contact, strong emotions like lust are heightened. Victims of the feedings of House Raith grow to enjoy the experience and become bonded to their predator like a drug addiction.

Unlike the other Courts, the White Court prefer to avoid direct confrontation. They are a court of schemers and stab each other in the back in finely detailed plots to impress others in the Court and they look down upon the direct confrontation.

The White Court is not blessed with supernatural strength, speed or endurance like the Red or Black Courts. They are slightly better than those of ordinary human but can channel the unused emotional energy as a fuel for performance to boost their physical attributes for a limited time. However, they make it up by having far fewer vulnerabilities. Sunlight, symbols of faith, or garlic have no effect on them.

The Red Court of Vampires are less human-like than the White Court. They are slimy bat-like creatures hidden behind incredibly sensuous human skin. The oldest and most powerful Red Court Vampires are capable of wearing any flesh masks to protect themselves from the sun. They use these customs to tick their prey into being more comfortable. They are incredibly strong and fast and can shake off any injuries quickly but they are vulnerable to sunlight. Their saliva contains potent magical narcotic allowing to control their prey by giving them a euphoric feeling and is highly addictive. Red Court is also capable of transforming humans into vampires

The Black Court vampires are made up of the most well-known and common vampires, the reanimated corpses like those in the novel _Dracula_. Black Court vampires still inhabit the human bodies that they lived in before their transformation. They possesses all the classic strength and weaknesses of the _Dracula_. While sunlight is deadly to the younger members, it only weakens the older members significantly. The oldest members of the Black Court were among the strongest and most cunning monsters in the world.

Dresden's half brother, Thomas Raith, is a White Court vampire and Dresden frequently dealt with those cunning vampires. He had warned Aries of their back stabbing nature but he was always eager to meet them. The first time Aries dealt with the White Court was when he was around 13 and they were particularly interested in the young Denarian. They could sense the darkness and swirling power in him and he immediately became one of their favorite snacks due to Meciel's presence.

Her demonic presence, combined with the potent hellfire, heightened Aries' emotions much stronger than any mortals especially during the heat of battles and it called out to them like a sweetest nectar and Aries had immediately taken a liking to House Raith due to their sexual nature. Much to Dresden and Meciel's chagrin and annoyance, Aries had become their favorite prey with his coming of adolescence as well as being demonically supercharged.

Dresden had more than once caught Aries coming out of an empty room with a smug grin while a beautiful female vampire followed right behind him with a delighted smile while playfully licking her lips. He often had to complain and force Aries to focus on their jobs while Aries always annoyed him by pointing out that he was just jealous because he could get numerous blowjobs despite his age.

"I can't wait to see Sephiria and Lara! Those two are smoking hot and ladies of House Raith sure does love me!" Aries chuckled while Dresden and Meciel sighed.

"The only reason you want to meet them is because you want to get inside their pants and they _do_ let you get inside their pants. Somewhat." Dresden grunted in annoyance.

"And only reason why you don't like Lara is because she's always trying to get you to work for the White Court." Aries immediately shot back.

"Besides, it's ok to feel jealous of me. It's not every day when smoking hot vampires offer you blowjobs and among other things." Mocked Aries while giving him a devious grin.

"Oh please, I already have a beautiful woman as my girlfriend and I don't need vampires to sate my urges like you." Dresden scoffed at him while giving him a glare.

"Oh? Did Molly Carpenter give you a mind-blowing sex yet? Let alone a blowjob?" Aries smirked at him.

Dresden chocked on his own spit and swatted at his head but the young Denarian easily moved out of the way.

"Judging by your reaction, you still haven't progressed beyond kissing and hugging. I'm almost 15 and I already have more sexual experience than you." Aries rolled his eyes.

"Cheeky brat." Dresden glared at him.

"I don't even know how you ended up with Molly Carpenter when you are utterly clueless when women are hitting on you." Aries snorted in amusement.

At that, Dresden was silent but glared at him wishing it would burn a hole in his head. As much as he hated it, Aries had a point when he said he was quite oblivious when women were hitting on him or making advances on him. It was a constant source of entertainment for the young Denarian as he gloated at him all the time. Thankfully, when he catches it he plays for keeps.

"This is just sad old man. Already getting upstaged by your young pupil. I honestly don't see what you see in that girl." Aries snorted as they walked out of their apartment while sadly shaking his head in mocking fashion.

"You don't know what it's like to have a girlfriend Aries. Just one smile from your beloved one is more than satisfying than a numerous nights of passion." Dresden retorted.

"Why get a girlfriend when I got a steady flow of offers from gorgeous chicks? Beautiful immortal girls if I may add." Aries rolled his eyes at the mere concept of getting a girlfriend.

"They are a waste of time and money. Just have sex with them and be done with it. It's obvious that you are suffering from blue balls old man." Aries drawled at him with mocking tone.

Dresden didn't even bother replying, they have been arguing about this topic for several years now and he could already feel a small headache forming. In the years that Dresden had taken Aries with him, he quickly found that the young Denarian had extremely twisted sense of moral. They bickered a lot in regards to morality but managed to work together without much difficulties. He and Aries were almost complete opposites in terms of personality but were also frighteningly similar in many ways.

Despite his age, Aries was sardonic, sarcastic, and possessed a dry sense of humor. He was very ruthless and didn't hesitate to destroy everything and everyone who got in his way. He was also selfish and cared no one but himself and was content to let others die or suffer while he furthered his own ambition.

Dresden, on the other hand, has a strong sense of moral obligation and always tried to do the right thing. He couldn't stand seeing a woman or child in distress and made many questionable judgments involving women in order to help them. He is also fully willing to sacrifice himself for what he believes to be the Greater Good, even it means damning his own soul, whereas Aries simply scoffs and ridicules the idea of the Greater Good and shows willingness to sacrifice the Greater Good for his own good.

And yet, despite such differences in their personalities, they were able to work together due to their similar characteristics such as their cunning and sharp wit. They were both sarcastic and had strong anti-authoritarian streaks as well as being stubborn in pursuit of their goals.

"Just promise me that you wouldn't get distracted in middle of work like last couple times." Dresden sighed.

"Hey I don't get distracted while I'm working!" Aries argues indignantly.

Dresden merely gave him a flat stare.

_'Yes beloved. That's why you ditched him last time when Sephiria offered you a blowjob in middle of investigation.'_ Meciel said drily.

"Ok fine. I may have gotten little side tracked but honestly, spending my time with a gorgeous female vampire is much more entertaining than watching over an old man whining at me." Aries admitted reluctantly.

"Whatever. Can we go now? We are running late." Dresden snapped.

Grumbling under his breath, Aries grabbed Dresden's arm and they side-apparated with a loud crack.

.oOo.

They reappeared with a loud crack. As they straightened, Aries couldn't help but to look around with expression of approval. They were in a large room with circular dome for ceilings and the marble tiles decorated the ground beneath them. Drawn the noise of apparation, a vampire guard immediately drew their weapons before lowering them and the one who was apparently in charge stepped forward to meet them.

"Come, Princess Lara awaits you." Said the guard.

Without another word, he turned and swiftly led them out of the room. They made their way out onto the hallway with many twists and turns before stopping in front of a particularly large door embellished with gold and other elaborate decorations.

The guard knocked on the door. "Princess, your guests are here." Said the guard.

"Send them in." said a soft voice from the other side of the room.

Stepping inside the "throne room" as the inhabitants of this place called, Aries immediately recognized the 3 people inside the room. Standing closest to them was Dresden's half brother, Thomas Raith.

He was a tall man with grey blue eyes and shoulder length dark hair along with very white teeth and a slim but firm build. Judging by his looks, he was obviously a White Court vampire by his attractiveness. Dresden had often called him "unwholesomely good looking," "awfully pretty to look at," and his favorite "a young man whom fathers of teenage daughters would shoot on sight."

The other two were women. Very attractive and beautiful with ethereal beauty that only immortal beings like them could possess. Standing slightly to Thomas's left was Sephiria. She had waist length, brilliant golden locks that seemed to be spurned from gold and voluptuous but slender figure and stood about 5'9. Her eyes were the deepest color of violet and alight with amusement while her lips were curved upward in mischievous and sensuous smile.

The last one, who was farthest away from them was Lara Raith. The princess of the White Court vampires and their de facto ruler as well as Thomas's older sister. While her father was the official king of the White Court, she was the real ruler who ruled from the shadows. She was nearly as tall as Sephiria but had dark shoulder length hair and possessed voluptuous but slender figure like her female companion. Whereas Sephiria possessed playful and easy going aura around her, Lara had sensuous but deadly aura.

"Dresden. Aries. Good to see you guys again and thanks for coming on such a short notice." Said Thomas with a large smile as he shook hand with his half brother.

"It's definitely good to be back among the White Court." Aries said as his lips quirked upward in a smirk.

"Aries. I see that you have grown since our last meeting." Sephiria purred as she gave him a wicked smile while trailing her eyes up and down his body.

"Indeed. We have missed your presence among us. It's been a while since we had you as our wonderful snack." Lara said throatily and licked her lips in obvious way.

"It's been 6 months since we last saw each other. I'm definitely looking forward to our... mutual business" Aries said while his eyes lit in anticipation.

Thomas laughed at his half brother's groan of annoyance. "Come now Dresden, you should know by now how popular Aries is among the House Raith. Ladies tell us that he tastes quite delicious."

"I sometimes wonder why I bother bringing him with me here." Dresden grunted.

"Say Aries, how come you never let me have a taste? Your emotions are very enticing." Thomas chuckled.

"Sorry Thomas but I don't feel comfortable with a male vampire feeding from me. I don't have anything against you but I just don't swing that way." Aries answered with an easy going smile.

"I'm not homosexual and you already know that. I'm just hungry that's all." Thomas pouted while rolling his eyes.

"Now that we had our little greetings, why did you call us here?" Dresden asked impatiently.

At his question, the three vampires became serious. "A few days ago, our outpost in England was wiped out. When we sent an investigation team, we found everyone was slaughtered. We don't know why or who did it. So we need you to solve the case and dispatch the ones responsible if you can." Said Lara.

"Any suspects?" Aries asked after a moment.

"We think it's either the Red Court or the Black Court." Said Sephiria.

"Alright. We'll check it out. What's our reward?" Dresden asked.

"You'll be paid handsomely depending on how bad the situation is. As for you Aries, I believe you'll enjoy our little get together after this is over." Lara purred while running her hands across his chest.

"You sure know how to motivate a guy Lara. It's a deal." Aries grinned.

Turning on his heels, Aries walked out of the room followed by Dresden before apparating away to England.

.oOo.

"Well shit. This is a fucking carnage." Aries grimaced.

All around him, corpses of White Court vampires lay strewn around the room. There were about 10 vampires and blood was all over the walls as well as the grounds. Aries and Dresden both crouched over the corpses and examined their nature of death.

"Judging by their wounds, it seemed they were engaged in a brutal battle but overpowered." Dresden commented as he looked at particularly gruesome corpse where it lacked an arm.

"Hmm it seems to be by another Court doesn't it?" Aries asked while looking at the slashes and claw marks.

"It seems so." Dresden nodded.

Standing up, Aries walked toward the window and looked out the mansion toward the back gate. White Court vampires had placed the place under investigation so that muggles and magicals wouldn't interfere. While the front gate was blasted open, the back gate seemed quite different.

He strode out from the house and knelt as he examined the ruined back gate. It looked as if something had forced its way in. Aries spotted a curious looking trail almost thick as an oak tree and saw that it traced its way to the forest around the mansion.

"Any idea what caused this Meciel?" Aries muttered.

_'It seems almost like an animal track. Judging by the width of the trail, it's quite thick.' _Meciel said after a moment of thought.

At that moment, Nightfang, who was quiet, stirred and flicked his tongue to smell the air around them.

_"Hatchling, I smell something similar in the air. It's coming from the trail and it leads into the woods."_ Nightfang hissed.

He frowned as he carefully followed the trail into the forest. His sharp eyes caught parted leaves and trail marks around the bases of trees.

_'Wait, what's that over there?'_ Meciel asked.

He saw something gleam in the moonlight and crept closer until he saw the object of his curiosity. Holding it up, he saw something quite similar to a scale. It was nearly as big as his palm and was deep green in color.

"Meciel what does this look like?" Aries asked while his eyebrows furrowed.

_'It almost looks like a scale you would find from a reptile.'_ Said Meciel.

"Yea, that's my thought too and I can feel a pulse of magic from it." Said Aries as he turned the scale over while examining it closely.

_'It's definitely reptilian in nature and it's magically resistant. There are few things that match its description. The most prominent among them would be a dragon.'_ Meciel said worriedly as she shifted in his mind.

"That's would be my guess but if it was a dragon then the mansion would be destroyed and set on fire." Aries deduced.

Nighfang tasted the air again and stared at the scale in his hand with curiosity.

_"I wondered why the smell was so familiar. It's the smell of a snake."_ He exclaimed.

_"A snake? This scale and trail is from a snake?"_ He hissed in surprise.

_"There is no mistake. However, I can tell that it is a magical snake like me."_ Nightfang hissed back.

He strode back into the room he left and spotted Dresden knelt next to a corpse.

"Did you find anything? Cause I found this big reptile scale in the woods as well as an animal trail." Aries asked.

"Yea, I found some corpses near the front door where they died. The corpses had no wounds or any sign of injuries. It's almost as if they dropped dead." Dresden answered.

Aries handed the scale he found to Dresden and walked to the front door where he found bodies Dresden mentioned. Curiously, they had no injuries or any sign of fight.

_'I don't sense any magic cast one them. It's almost as if they suddenly dropped dead.'_ Meciel said while she examined the corpses.

"Do you think it had something to do with the scale and animal trail we found?" Asked Aries.

_'Could be, but nothing is sure at this point. Only thing we know is that the suspects are the Red or Black Court and I'm not sure how the animal trail or the scale we found relates to them.'_ Meciel said.

"Lara would never place her subordinates unwatched or unguarded. Let's go check the control room." Aries said.

He quickly walked toward the basement where he found various screens and computers all smashed. The whole room was a mess and he could see that a safe was torn open.

_'Whoever came here obviously got what they were looking for. They must've destroyed the system so we couldn't trace back to them.'_ Meciel deduced.

"Well it looks like the suspects did a bang up job in here." Dresden commented as he walked inside.

"The whole system is destroyed but I think we can still salvage some tapes and take it back." Said Aries as he rummaged around the electronics.

Dresden sighed. "Damn, Lara is going to be so pissed."

In the end they salvaged 5 tapes but they were in very bad shapes. "Do you think they can fix those?" Aries asked.

"Probably but it would take quite a while and I saw the animal trail you found. It looks almost like a snake trail as they were no visible foot prints." Said Dresden.

"Those were my thoughts too. I have a suspicion on what it is but I'll need to check something before I know it's true. I'll have to go into wand-wizarding world again." Aries hummed.

"Wand-wizards? You believe they hold the answer to this?" Dresden asked while lifting his eyebrow.

"Yup. I'll go check it out. You take those back and go talk to Lara." Said Aries.

"Hey wait a min-" Before Dresden could finish his sentence, Aries turn on his heel and disappeared with a loud crack.

Dresden cursed. He was not looking forward to talking to Lara who would undoubtedly angry about the situation. The vampire princess and he did not get along well. Sighing in resignation, Dresden walked away muttering under his breath about cheeky little brats.

.oOo.

_'An animal trail... no foot prints... big green, reptile scale... dead bodies with no wounds...'_ These thoughts ran around his head repeatedly.

Aries was currently sitting in Leaky Cauldron looking through a book for needed information.

_'Our suspicion fits all the requirement but even if it's true, it's quite hard to believe.' _Meciel murmured.

"Aha. Here it is." Said Aries.

He quickly read the content and couldn't help but to grimace at the information.

"Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has murderous stare, and all who are fixed with beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it." He read.

_'Well shit. It fits all the clues. The animal trail with no foot prints, big reptile scale, and corpses with no wounds.'_ Aries couldn't help but to sigh.

_'Indeed. I'm worried about how a creature like Basilisk can be used by the Red or Black Court. These serpents are one of the deadliest creatures ever to roam this world.'_ Meciel said worriedly.

"How do you think they tamed it?" Aries asked with a frown.

_'I would guess they used extremely dark ritual to mind control the beast. While wand-magic have its own way to control other beings, true-magic is more powerful in terms of raw power.'_ Meciel said thoughtfully.

He closed the book and pushed it away from him and leaned back on the chair.

_'I seriously am going to need a vacation for this.' _He grumbled.

He stood up and made his way into the Diagon Alley before apparating away.

.oOo.

A few days later, Aries stood once again in the room with Dresden, Thomas, Lara and Sephiria.

"A Basilisk? They have a fucking Basilisk?" Thomas swore out while rubbing his the bridge of his nose.

"Unfortunately, it fits all the description." Aries grunted.

"Did you fix the tapes we got? They may give us who the suspects are." Said Dresden.

"We did and you are not going to like it." Lara grimaced.

With a click of a button, a screen projected the image of the attack. They watched in silence as they saw blurry forms of vampires that attacked the mansion. Finally, they saw a huge shape of snake that killed the vampires in the front door with merely its gaze. Sephiria paused the tape and they could see the deadly, yellow eyes of Basilsk staring into the room.

"It was the Red Court. I recognize some of the members." Said Lara.

"Why did they attack the mansion. Wasn't it just an outpost?" Asked Aries.

"Not really. It was one of our bases and it contained several important documents. Also, there was an important shipment awaiting to be exported to here. I think that's why they used the Basilisk in the raid. It was far too heavily guarded for them to do it alone." Sephiria said uncomfortably.

"What's your plan of action?" Dresden asked Lara.

She was quiet for few moments as she gathered her thoughts. "This attack cannot go unpunished. Gather our soldiers, we are going to storm their base and retrieve what was stolen from us."

Sephiria nodded and immediately went out and began to bark out orders. Thomas turned to his half brother and Aries. "I suggest you ready yourselves as well. It will be a tough fight."

.oOo.

"Raven unit report."

"Locked and loaded sir. Awaiting your orders."

Thomas turned to Lara. "All units are standing by awaiting your call."

They had tracked down the Red Court and were now just outside their base. All of them were dressed form-fitting combat suits and armed with heavy assault rifles as well as few explosives. They could see the walls surrounding the compounds and lights were visible here and there.

"The important rooms are underground. The Raven unit will cut off the electricity and we will storm the compound after opening the gate. Aries and Dresden sneak in from the back and will help us kill the Basilisk. Any questions?" Lara asked. Around her, the vampires nodded in confirmation.

"Alright. Everyone get to your positions." Commanded Lara.

It was late at night, the stars twinkled in the night sky and the moon shone faintly. They could see guards stationed here and there patrolling the perimeter. Aries and Dresden, along with about 10 vampires, stealthily moved to the back of the compound by keeping to the shadows.

"Damn. Why is it that my enemies always have way cooler houses than I do?" Aries muttered sourly.

_'Well, after this whole fiasco is over with, I'm sure Lara will be willing to pay us quite a lot. Then we can go buy those silk sheets I've been wanting.'_ Meciel mollified him.

"That's nice but I'm not looking forward to this." Aries grimaced.

_'Is that so? You are usually very eager to get into a battle with hellfire singing in your veins as you unleash your powers and destroy everyone who stands in your way.'_ Meciel said mildly.

"Yea but not against battles that might get me killed. Especially not against a giant snake that can kill people by its mere gaze." Aries snorted.

"Will you be able to counter the death glare?" Asked Aries.

_'I believe so but it will be quite difficult. We should neutralize its sight before fighting it.'_ Meciel advised.

"Snipers take out the guards. Raven unit cut off the power." Lara's voice buzzed from Aries's radio earpiece.

They tensed as various guards began to dropped to the ground while others' heads were completely blown off. Few seconds later, the entire compounds submerged into darkness as the power was suddenly cut off. The back-up lights immediately flashed and siren began to blare, alerting the inhabitants of intruders.

"That's our queue." Dresden muttered.

Rushing forward, Aries pointed his wand toward the gate in front of them. It wasn't as big as the front gate but it would still take several of them to open it without magic. "Alohomora." He hissed out.

The gate groaned slightly but it opened enough to let few people passed through shoulder to shoulder. As he rushed inside, he could hear the explosions going off and sound of gunshots filled the air as Lara led her forces and stormed the compound from the front. Ignoring the sounds of battle Dresden and he led their group into the building.

He pointed his wand to the door and hissed "_Reducto_!"

The blasting spell left his wand and the door exploded inward. There were shouts of surprise and pain as those insides who were too close to the door were caught in surprise. Dashing forward with Dresden and White Court vampires, Aries charged in and began to cast spell after spells with deadly accuracy.

"_Frendo_!"

A dull roar rang throught the air and Aries's vison was engulfed by sapphire light as his wand trembled and shuddered in his hand. The dark curse erupted from the tip of his wand and he watched with cold smirk as a group of Red Court vampires who were tightly packed together near the hallway exploded in a shower of blood and flesh, leaving them as nothing more than chunks of flesh.

Flicking his wrist, he brought out his other wand and snarled "_Diffindo_!"

The normal cutting spell, in this case, was highly powered by his own magic as well as the hellfire and cleanly chopped off a vampire who was about to rip an arm off from one of his team. The cutting spell cleanly cut through his chest and the corpse, missing upper part of its chest, collapsed in spray of blood. The White Court vampire he saved nodded him in thanks before leaping to engage another enemy.

"Keep moving forward! We need to secure the files and data!" Dresden yelled.

Aries scowled as more and more enemies poured into the hallway they were in. Snarling in anger, he pointed both of his wands at the enemies charging en mass at them and yelled "_Cornollivo_!"

The dark pulverizing curse erupted from the business ends of two wands and he watched with savage glee as it literally crushed the rows of enemies in an instant. The vampires were immediately pushed back before the force of the spell caught up with them and their bodies exploded in shower of blood and gore. He idly noted several limbs fly off from high pressure of his spells. While the Red Court vampires certainly moved faster and packed stronger attacks than White Court's they did not possess any counter against the spellcasters like Aries and Dresden, thus easily allowing them to dispatch numerous enemies at once.

"Forward." Aries's voice calmly broke through the shock on his team's faces.

The vampires snapped out of their initial surprise before doing as Aries ordered. Dresden looked distastefully at the bloody carnage his pupil created but wisely kept his mouth shut. He had learned since long ago when he first took Aries under his wing to not complain about his brutality and ruthlessness. While they both used powerful, and often destructive, spells due to the nature of their enemies, he didn't like using them on regular basis. Aries, on the other hand, seemed to relish in unleashing destruction where ever he went as he turned all his enemies into bloody paste.

Exiting from the hallway, they came upon a large room with high ceilings and ornate furniture.

"This looks like the main room of this base. Spread out and search the rooms. Aries and I will deal with the Red Court and the Basilisk." Dresden commanded.

The vampires nodded and broke into several groups as they spread out for the search.

Turning to Aries, he asked. "Do you know where we are suppose to go? There are too many passages."

He frowned as he raised his wand and braced himself. _"Echosondra!"_

The invisible waves of sonic energy left his wand and travelled down the multiple corridors at great speed. He winced as the wave struck walls, floors, and ceilings and shattered into a thousand different parts, ricocheting throughout the building. High-pitch bursts of sound, unable to be hard by anybody apart from Aries, struck the Denarian's ear and with each tone came tantalizing flash, a grainy image of lines and darkness. Thousands of these tones left Aries with a clear picture of the physical layout of the building and adjoining rooms.

"Found anything?" Aries asked Meciel.

An image flashed in his mind. Grainy and dark, like an old photograph, and full of odd lines and angles.

"That massive coil, is that the Basilisk?" He asked.

_'I believe so.'_ Meciel answered. _'But there is also someone near it.'_

"Most likely to be one of the top brass of Red Court." He muttered sourly.

Turning to Dresden he said "I found the Basilisk but there is someone else down there. Most likely to be an Noble."

"Lead the way." Dresden grimaced. A Noble was not someone to be messed with. They were one of the most powerful vampires of Red Court due to their sheer power, experience, and age.

Aries led him down the passage that travelled deeper into the ground, blasting anyone that stood in his way until they reached a massive steel door.

_"Bombarda!"_ He hissed.

The blasting curse tore through the thick steel and the door exploded into chunks of metal as they exploded inward. Stepping into the room, Dresden and Aries saw a lone figure standing on the far side of the room. He was a tall man but bit scrawny. He had graying hair and onyx eyes that looked at them with unreadable expression.

"A true wizard and a wand wizard." He muttered as he raised his eyebrow in small surprise.

"I assume you are the one in charge?" Dresden asked him.

"My name is Arcturus Kusinis. It was foolish of you to come here mortals." He hissed.

"Like you're the one to say you old geezer." Aries taunted him. He could feel the intoxicating rush of hellfire as he embraced it for imminent battle.

Arcturus swiveled his gaze to Aries. He frowned his he sniffed the air in his direction.

"You are not what you seem wand-wizard. You are different." He asked with slight puzzlement.

"Oh I'm not merely a wizard, vampire. I'm much much more." He smirked.

"But still, it was foolish to come here." He said.

"Have you finally gone senile with your old age? If you are thinking about the Basilisk, than we already know." Aries drawled.

The vampire's eyebrows shot up in surprise before narrowing. "How did you find about the Basilisk?"

"It wasn't that hard to figure out after the attack on the outpost." Dresden answered him easily.

"Very perceptive of you mortal." Arcturus bared his fangs.

"What I want to know is how you got yourself a pet Basilisk. They are not the type to listen to anyone, even if you are an immortal vampire." Aries asked shrewdly.

"We raised it from birth. Of course, we had to perform few rituals to bind its will to our cause." The vampire shrugged.

"The snake will not save you from us." Dresden said.

"We shall see." He replied back with cold smile.

_"Praecido!"_ Aries snapped.

A jet of silver light blasted from the end of his wand, almost blinding the occupants in the room. Arcturus nimbly stepped aside with inhuman speed and twisted his body around to dodge a blasting spell from Dresden. He grabbed a desk near him and threw it at the wizards. Snapping up his wand, Aries yelled _"Reducto!"_

The desk exploded in a shower of woods and the vampire ducked under a ball of fire before drawing his hand back to punch Aries. Flicking his other wand, he twirled it in circle around himself as he yelled out "_Contego Puniceus!"_

The hellfire warped around the tip of his wand and extended outward into a burning dome of dark fire that surrounded him not a moment too soon as vampire's arm lashed out. Aries hissed in pain but Arcturus howled in agony as the dark fire licked his skins and immediately withdrew his arm, clutching it in pain and valiantly trying to stop the spread of fire.

Before he could even attempt to put out the fire, he was blasted backward by Dresden and crashed through the wall onto the next room. Snarling out in pain and anger, thrust his hand forward and bright light shot toward the two wizards. Aries rolled out of the way but Dresden thrust his staff toward the ground and shimmering magical shield formed in front of him as the light impacted against it.

_"Argentum Telum!"_ Aries snapped. A silvery light shot forward from his wand like an arrow but before it could tear into the vampire, Arcturus stomped his foot and raised his hands upward. A thick wall of stone erupted from the ground and shattered into chunks of rock as the light collided against the raised stone wall. He pivoted as Dresden shot a wave of crackling electricity toward him snarled out something in vampire tongue while pointing toward his enemies. As one, Dresden and Aries raised their staff and wand, respectively, and a powerful magical shield was formed and it immediately began to glow white hot under whatever spell the vampire shot at them.

Shrugging off the attack, Dresden swung his staff and a scorching wave of fire erupted from its end and raced toward Arcturus. The vampire _jumped_ and dodged the flames by nearly touching the high ceilings of the hallway and brought his hands together like a clapping gesture. With a loud boom, the air in front of him shimmered and began to ripple as a wave of spell began to travel toward his enemies.

With a bloodthirsty grin, Aries brought his wand forward and barked _"Siagrus!"_

A shimmering pulse of near-invisible magic rippled the air as he directed it at Arcturus's spell. With a loud gong, the dark spells clashed in midair and bright light flashed as they canceled each other out. Seeing the opportunity, Dresden shot his hand forward and Arcturus grunted as he felt something slam into his gut with a force of sledgehammer and went flying into one of the rooms.

As powerful as he was, Arcturus was being pushed back before the combined might of the two wizards. If they were two ordinary wizards, than he would've dispatched them quite easily but both Dresden and Aries were a formidable magic users by themselves. In one-on-one battle he somewhat stood a chance but he was no match against them together. Snarling out in anger and pain, he reached out with his mind to the connection he shared with the Basilisk aroused it from its slumber.

_'He's raising the Basilisk! You must seal the entrance!'_ Meciel hissed out in anger.

With hellfire throbbing in his veins, he quickly searched for an entrance that Basilisk would use. He snapped out his wand and yelled _"Echosondra!"_

He listened intently as the sonic energy ricocheted around him, his brows furrowing in concentration as he saw grainy image of Basilisk uncoiling itself down the chamber below. The echo travelled further and he saw the image of entrance into its chamber.

_'There! Seal the door!'_ Meciel pointed out. He could feel the rushing power and ancient fury from her as he ran toward his destination.

"Keep him busy!" Aries yelled out to Dresden.

He raced out of the room and snarled out _"Bombarda!"_

He blasted the walls and jumped through the hole he created. Rushing toward his goal, he saw a large trap door in a room with circular dome above. Pointing his wand, he let out a series of spells. _"Reducto! Bombarda! Cornollivo! Frendo!"_ He snapped out.

The spells rapidly shot out from the ends of his wands and stuck the trap door as well as the areas around it. The heavy steel door groaned from the impact before being blasted apart. The grounds exploded in chunks of stones and cement as they rained down to the empty hole. Aries sent out two more dark curses and watched with glee as he caved downward, raising a dust cloud and burying the Basilisk below.

At that moment, Arcturus dashed into the room and roared in rage at the state of trap door. Faster than he could blink, Aries pointed his wand at the vampire and yelled _"Cruento Adustum!"_

The marble tiles on the ground glowed as dark magic twisted the blood around the vampire into a raging maelstrom of power. He glared coldly at him as the glowing crimson bloodfire whipped up and splashed against the vampire Noble with devastating effect.

Dresden came running into the room and saw him get surrounded by crimson fire from Aries's spell. To his surprise, he saw a dark blur shot up from the flames. Looking up, he couldn't help but to grimace at the Red Court vampire's true form.

Arcturus was now a slimy bat like creature with thick furs on his back. His wing span reached around 12ft and his head was transfigured into grotesque bat like face with two, large pincer like fangs. He kicked off from the ceiling and crashed into Aries in inhuman speed and Dresden watched as they both tumbled into the ground below, leaving a large hole on the floor.

"Go help the others! I got this!" He yelled at Dresden.

The tall wizard hesitated for a moment before nodding and disappeared from his view.

Aries snarled in fury as the large bat-like creature slammed into him. They both had travelled down from the impact and he grunted as they slammed into the ground below and the rocks tumbled in, closing the gap. With dark power glinting in his eyes, he heaved the vampire off him. He winced at the wounds he got but immediately sighed as Meciel began to heal his body, hellfire roaring in his veins and he felt the pain fade away.

He glared coldly at the vampire as it rose while baring its fangs. His bone wings crossed protectively over him. It was a good thing that he was able to bring out his wings just before the vampire slammed into him, thereby reducing the impact somewhat. He sheathed his Phoenix and Holly wand and drew out Judgement.

Black lightning crackled into life and basked the blade in its power. With roar of rage, Aries and Arcturus clashed against its each other. Aries brought up his bone wings and lashed out with them, attempting to impale the creature in front of him but the vampire twisted and slashed at his chest. Aries brought up Judgement and blocked his attack and watched with dark smile as the black lightning crackled and cut through its hand. With a loud screech, Arcturus immediately withdrew his hand but was blasted back from blasting spell from Aries.

Spreading out his wings, he regained his balance before sending a toxic breath at Aries from his jaws. _"Laedo Fervefacio!"_ He barked, brandishing his wand like a whip. From the end of his wand erupted a whip made of hellfire and the stones cracked under its dark spell. Twirling his wand in circles, Aries began to spin the fire whip into a blazing storm of inferno and it ate up the toxic breath.

Arcturus screeched as Aries began to use the fire whip to attack him from the distance, whenever he closed in he was met by bone wings and the sword writhed in powerful black lightning.

"Did you know you are a one hell of an ugly fuck face?" Aries taunted him.

Arcturus snarled in anger and pounced on him. Aries nimbly side stepped him and slashed at his stomach with Judgement before leaving another deep gash on his back with his fire whip.

"Now now, you have been very very bad. Didn't your mom ever teach you manners?" He taunted him. "Oh that's right, your mom's dead. But don't worry, you'll see her soon."

Twirling his wand hand in circles once more, Aries began to spin the fire whip into a blazing storm of inferno as he backed Arcturus up against the wall. Snarling in fury, the vampire leaped forward as he realized that he was trapped. Aries merely smiled coldly before stepping forward to meet the attack.

The circular motion of the wand had created a wall of flame that blocked Arcturus from seeing his enemy. Ashen wings of bone snapped forward and each impaled the bat like wings and he screeched in pain before it was cut off by a gurgle and a gasp. Looking down, he saw the sword had impaled his chest, right where his heart was. Lifting his head, his shocked yellow eyes met the cold, piercing emerald eyes of his enemy.

Aries sneered at him. "It's time for your retirement, you old fossil."

The black lightning surge forward and poured into the impaled vampire, vaporizing his organs and muscles. He twitched and struggled futilely as the light faded from its yellow eyes and Aries wrenched the sword free from its chest. With his enemy dead, he closely looked around his surroundings. The walls were gray and he could see that they were quite old.

"Now this is turning out to be bloody fine day!" He exclaimed with a wide grin. He couldn't help but to feel ecstatic as euphoria washed over him. The feeling of hellfire was good, but after nearly 8 years of honing the skill under Meciel's guidance he was easily able to resist its intoxicating pleasure. As of this moment, he basked in the feeling of victory.

_'You have to get out of here Aries. This is the lair of Basilisk.' _Meciel warned him as he felt spike of hellfire.

When Arcturus crashed into him and sent both of them tumbling downward, they had ended up in where Basilisk resided. No doubt, it would've hear the sound of fighting and was on its way here.

He scowled at the ruined moment of victory and took off running. He twisted at the corner and ran down the long hallway and came upon a gigantic underground room. It was circular and he could see something close to a huge bathtub. Stepping forward with his heart pounding he saw bloodstains on the walls and ground around the room from the dim light. Something glistened under the dim lights and he found looking at the familiar scale he found back at the mansion. The scale of Basilisk.

Shit.

Feeling the ground tremble, he turned and saw a giant snake sliding forward into the room. It was nearly 50ft long with venomous green scales and as thick as an oak tree. Its jaws filled with razor sharp teeth and two elongated fangs on the top. He could see the scarlet plume on its head as it reared up. Lastly, he saw its eyes. They were pair of deadly yellow with cat like slit for pupil and he winced as he felt devastating effect of its death glare. He could feel the hundreds of frequencies and deadly spells that attempted to enter his eyes by trying to suck out his life from his body.

Hellfire blazed in his mind as Meciel reared up and shattered the effect of the Basilisk's glare. He could feel her battling furiously against the Basilisk's stare with her magic, negating its effects. He quickly broke the eye contact and stared at its body, keeping its head on his peripheral vision.

_"Stop!"_ He commanded in Parsletongue.

_"You killed my master and I will destroy you!"_ The Basilisk hissed back in clearly insane voice.

_'The Basilisk is clearly insane. The dark rituals must have permanently altered its mind. You can't persuade it.'_ Said Meciel.

He didn't have the time to respond as he rolled out of the way as it struck. Bringing his wand up, he yelled "Abhorreo!"

A streak of electric-blue light zapped forward and struck the head of the snake. It hissed out in pain and reared back while its tail swiped at him. Aries jumped out of the way and sent another dark curse on it but the spell simply bounced away from the snake's scale.

_'Spells are useless. Basilisk scale is far too thick for spells to affect it.'_ Meciel hissed in anger as she glared at the massive snake.

_"Corium Ustulo!"_ He spat.

A cone of dim orange light shone from his wand, much like a powerful _lumos_ charm. The light shone upon the giant snake, who paused for a moment before letting out a pained snarl. It was supposed to fry it from inside and out but the spell couldn't penetrate the thick scales completely.

The Basilisk struck again, intending to devour Aries, so he had to break off the spell and roll to the side. Snarling out in anger, he pointed his wand at the snake and barked out "_Exturbo Arduro!"_

Hellfire spilled out in scorching waves and surrounded the snake. While its scale was magically resistant, it didn't completely protect it against the scorching heat and hellfire was much stronger than the dark fires. He smiled cruelly as the snake thrashed and brought out his bone wings. The emerald flames surround the wings and he took flight as he flapped his wings.

_'Aim for its eyes. It should be much easier without the death glare.'_ Meciel advised him.

Thrusting his wand forward, he sent out more hellfire toward its head. Unfortunately, Basilisk was thrashing around too much to aim correctly. Snarling in anger, he began to set the entire room ablaze with fire. Torrent of hellfire bathed the ground from above while Aries let out a cold laughter as the stones became glass from the scorching heat.

"Now this what battle is suppose to be like! Burn little snake burn!" He cackled.

The massive snake hissed out in fury and pain and coiled itself like a spring before launching at airborne Aries. He was able to dodge out of the way and slashed Judgement at its head. The sword, its edges further enhanced by the lightning, easily cut into its thick scale and left a nasty gash near its jaws. Extinguishing the flames, he began to concentrate as he jabbed his wand toward the ground. Due to the blazing heat, the stone had become a glass and he began to transfigure the ground into a mirror. He wasn't able to completely transfigure it into a perfect mirror but he was able to make it so that reflection wasn't distorted. Basilisk screeched as its death glare was reflected and immediately closed its eyes and its forked tongue lashed out, tasting the air.

This was the signal he had been waiting for. He swooped down and slashed one of its eyes with the sword. It immediately reeled in pain as the sword ripped through one of its eyes and thrashed its head in agony. Aries had to pull back with a snarl but grinned manically when he got the clear chot at the other eye. Thrusting his wand forward, he barked out _"Putesco!"_

A murky-brown beam of light blasted forward from the tip of his wand and tore through the snake's other eyelids. The Basilisk let out a terrifying screech as its eyes were ripped apart, rendering it blind. Aries was slammed by its massive head as it shook its head in agony and he crashed into the ground while his wand and Judgement flew out of his grasp.

"Fuck! Why don't you just die you fucking snake!" He hissed out while pushing himself off the ground.

The snake frantically tasted the air before opening its maw and striking again. Aries disappeared with a loud crack and reappeared where his sword laid on the ground. Picking up Judgement, he directed his magic onto his left hand where a ball of white lightning was formed. The Basilisk, hearing the crackle of electricity, pounced on him with intent to pierce his body with its fangs. Aries merely gave it a bloodthirsty grin before shooting his arm forward while nimbly side stepping the beast. White lightning shot from his palm and struck the open mouth of the snake, cooking its mouth with its heat. The Basilisk, unable to control its momentum, continued forward and Aries brought Judgement in horizontal slash and the powerful sword left a long gash on it from the side of its mouth to the upper body.

With a roar, it thrashed its head toward his direction but Aries turned on his heel and quickly apparated. With a crack, he reappeared several feet away from his original position and thrust his left hand forward and watched as the lightning in his hand shoot toward the snake. The Basilisk screamed as it struck but instead of bolt of electricity, it was a lightning in a shape of a sword. Aries grinned coldly at the beast and began to run toward the beast, running his lightning made sword deeper into the wounds he struck.

It was one of the things that he had been working on with Meciel, he was able to manipulate the natural energy of elements and use it however he wanted. It was difficult but he managed to control it without the use of his wand. Right now, he had manipulated the lightning into taking a shape of a long sword that pierced the hard scales of the Basilisk.

The Basilisk struck again, forcing him to roll out of the way.

_'Paralyze it. It's moving too much for you to deal the death blow. You need to lock it in place.'_ Meciel advised him.

Gathering his energy on his left hand, the lightning glowed more powerfully as it grew bigger and bigger in his palm.

_"C'mon little snake. See if you can bite me."_ He taunted it in Parsletongue.

It an enraged roar, the Basilisk struck again but just as it opened its mouth, Aries struck. The air crackled and a sound of thunder was heard as the lightning shot forward and engulfed the snake. Aries could smell the ozone in the air along with sulphur as hellfire pumped in his veins. The Basilisk convulsed at the million volts running into its body via mouth.

Disappearing with a crack, Aries appeared in midair above the head of convulsing Basilisk and brought down Judgement with a roar. The snake jerked as the sword impaled its head and Aries held onto the grip of Judgement for dear life. It fell forward with a thud and only thing that filled the silence was the ragged breathing of Denarian. With a sickening squelch, Aries pulled out his sword from the head of the Basilisk and stared at its corpse.

_'Well done Aries. You just killed a Basilisk, the king of serpents, as well as a Noble of the Red Court. I'm so proud of you.'_ Meciel said. Aries grinned tiredly as he felt warmth from Meciel and opened his eyes at the soft rustling of clothes.

Meciel stood in front of him with her immaculate white and silver gown and her eyes were alit with pride and fondness. She reached out and ran her fingers through his messy, raven black hair and he leaned into her touch.

_'We should head back up. You need to let them know that you killed Arcturus and the Basilisk.' _Meciel murmured as she continued to stroke his hair.

"Yea, I suppose so." He sighed.

Meciel's illusion disappeared and he picked himself up as he searched for his wand. Humming in satisfaction, he casually strolled out of the gigantic chamber while leaving behind mutilated and disfigured corpse of Basilisk behind. He had little bit of bounce in his steps and a wide smile plastered across his face. All in all, he was in a good mood.

Scratch that, he was in a bloody fantastic mood.

He grinned at nothing particular as he hummed. It was a good fight and it was quite fun to kill both the vampire noble as well as the giant snake. He had almost reached where he fought Arcturus when he heard several voices talking. Turning around the corner, he saw several White Court vampires kneeling over the bat-like corpse of Arcturus.

"Yo. You guys sure do have impeccable fucking timing." Aries called out lazily while his right arm came up in two-fingered salute.

The vampires started in surprise but relaxed when they saw who it is.

"Sir, The operation was a success. The princess is waiting for you outside." One of the vampire informed.

He gave a grunt of understanding and heaved himself up to the floor where it all started. Just as he brought himself up and walked few steps, he was tackled by a mop of blonde hair as the figure wrapped him in a hug.

"Aries!" The figure exclaimed. His arm unconsciously wrapped itself around the figure very slender waist.

He gave a small grunt at the impact and couldn't help but to grin. "Sephiria."

Her beautiful face was alit with joy and her deep violet eyes sparkled at seeing him uninjured. His grin grew larger as his hand travelled down her slender waist to her firm buttocks and gave a squeeze.

"Miss me? I know I'm smoking hot and sexy and all but there is no need to get your knickers in a twist." He smirked smugly.

"Sephiria, if you would stop strangling him for a moment so that I can talk to him." A sultry voice called.

Blushing slightly at the comment and at Aries's hand that _still_ was kneading her butt, Sephiria let him go and moved out of the way but stayed at his side.

Lara Raith stood few feet in front of him along with Thomas and her subordinates. Her eyes travelled up and down his body (his clothes were torn and burnt from the battles.) smirking in appreciation.

"Good to see that you're still alive. Now, if you would give me what happened down there? Dresden filled me in until you disappeared into that hole." Said Lara

_'Damn today was a good day and it's about to get better! Imagine the rewards they'll give me when I tell them that I killed both Arcturus and the Basilisk!'_ He crowed mentally.

_'Of course. How can I forget your obsession with sex.' _Meciel said drily.

Putting on his most charming smile he looked at the audience while giving another playful squeeze at Sephiria's butt. "Well, let me tell you exactly how I killed both Arcturus and the Basilisk." He grinned.


	9. The Quidditich World Cup

The Quidditich World Cup

Aries groaned slightly as he stirred awake. He shifted slightly as he tried to go back to wonderful sleep, until he realized he was pressed in between warm and soft bodies. He creaked open his eyelids by a millimeter and spotted a mop of gold and black across his shoulders with blurry vision. His eyes opened further when he felt two pairs of wonderfully perky objects on his ribs and a slender hand wrapped around his penis possessively.

His vision began to clear from the fitful slumber as he looked at his surroundings more closely. He was lying in the middle of a large bed big enough to fit 5 people while curtains draped the windows, preventing the sunlight from entering the room. On his right was a mane of golden blonde hair while on his left was a mane of dark hair and he realized that he was sandwiched between two immortal vampires. Both of them had their legs swung over to him and their arms were encircling around him. Sephiria was sprawled on top of him with her hand down the south while Lara had her arms around his torso and he watched with amusement as Sephiria murmured something sleepily and snuggled into him further.

"Wha- Oh right. I err... I banged them last night." He murmured.

He let his head fall back onto the pillow as he closed his eyes in pure satisfaction. He let out a contented sigh as the memories of last night came rushing in. After climbing out of that shit-hole, he had proceeded to entertain his audience by telling how he single-handily killed both Arcturus and the Basilisk. Lara and Sephiria had been quite impressed with his skills as well as Dresden, who grudgingly admitted he might not have won unscathed against the Basilisk's killer stare. They had found what they were looking for and even managed to get their hands on the locations of Red Court's several hidden bases. Overall, it was a good day with good fight and fantastic reward.

After returning to their base, Lara gave Dresden and him a rather sizeable monetary reward as she had promised and even greater reward for Aries after Dresden left. She and Sephiria all but dragged willing Aries into her private chamber before ripping apart his clothes in lustful frenzy. His impressive deeds for the day, combined with his approaching 15th birthday, prompted them to give him bloody fantastic night. He had done pretty much everything with other female vampires except for the intercourse as they still felt he was physically too young. However, his growing power convinced them otherwise and it all changed last night.

He could still feel the hazy lust that clouded his mind as hellfire rushed through his veins followed by rather pleasurable sensation as two vampires fed off his feeling of lust. They had stayed awake until early morning having wild sex before succumbing to sleep. His train of thoughts were broken by sleepy groans of other occupants of the enormous bed.

Sephiria was the first one to awake as she let out a wide yawn while arching her back much like a cat did after a good nap. Rubbing her eyes sleepily she lifted her head from his shoulders and looked around until her eyes landed on Aries.

"Good morning Aries. Hope you enjoyed last night." She purred while giving him a wicked smile.

"On the contrary, I think it was you who enjoyed it more than me." Aries cheekily replied while giving her one of his most charming grin.

By now, Lara was stirred awake by the conversation and she too, sleepily sat up.

"Aries." She yawned. "I must say you surprised me last night with amount of lust you gave off."

"That's it? That's all you gotta say? I distinctively remember you and Sephiria moaning and yelling at the top of your lungs." He smirked.

"Hmmm. Well for a first-timer, you certainly seemed to know what you were doing." Sephiria grinned while licking her lips.

"Well...I did learn from the best after all. Just because I didn't have full sex before doesn't mean I didn't do anything else." Aries chuckled while giving her a wink.

"With more practice, we'll make a proper man out of you yet." Lara smirked as she stretched before getting out of the bed.

"As much as I would like to stay in bed all day, I believe it's time to get up." With that, she walked to the bathroom with purposeful sway of hips while tossing back her hair and giving him a saucy wink before closing the door.

Aries groaned as he just laid back to the bed.

_'Like Lara said, I believe it's time to get up and start our day.'_ Meciel said mildly as her illusion materialized next to him while her silver eyes were idly looking around the room.

"Oh c'mon Meciel. I just defeated a Noble and a Basilisk. Cut me some slack." Aries replied back lazily.

_'You always lazy around in the mornings until it's nearly noon.'_ Meciel said dryly.

"Okay okay. I'm getting up." Aries grumbled before a sudden inspiration struck him.

"Actually, Sephiria would you like to give me a hand _down there_?" Aries leered at her while wiggling his eyebrows.

The blonde vampire giggled. "What do you do when I'm not around you?"

"I manage. Meciel is a tease. She never lets me see anything important." He pouted.

Meciel just sighed but amused twinkle in her eyes and slight upward curve on her lips betrayed her act.

_'You make sexual innuendos nearly every single minute. Your propensity for sex and violence is quite entertaining.'_ Meciel drawled.

"You know Meciel, I wouldn't make so many sex jokes if you would just let me have my way with you. Trust me you wouldn't be able to get enough of me and keep coming back for more!" Aries smirked arrogantly at her.

She chuckled and regarded him with exasperated fondness but whatever she was about to say was immediately drowned out by a groan from Aries as Sephiria set out to _fix_ his _morning problem_.

.oOo.

Aries closed his eyes and felt himself hum along the music. He was currently leaning back on his comfortable couch as he felt his fingers pluck the strings of guitar. It was a strange sensation to let Meciel take control of his body. He could feel her delicate movements as she played a soft tune with his guitar and he retreated back into his mind while Meciel's presence burned in the forefront. She had learned numerous skills over her millennia of existence and playing musical instruments happened to be one of them.

"So where do we head next?" Aries asked as he hummed along the music. Dresden had gone to see his girlfriend Molly Carpenter and her family. He had visited them occasionally over the years along with Dresden and never really liked the experience.

Charity was still a gigantic bitch but Michael Carpenter, the Knight of Cross, was surprisingly polite to him although he detected bit of professional courtesy rather than genuine like. But than again, he was a Denarian, a being of darkness Knights of Cross swore to hunt down. He had met other broods of the Carpenter family and couldn't say he liked anyone of them. Hope and Amanda were still annoying and Daniel was as retarded as ever in his opinion. The others, Mathew and Alicia were introduced later but they were just as annoying. Charity had given birth to another and whom they named Harry.

Aries sometimes wondered just when Charity would stop giving birth but couldn't really fault Michael. As bitchy as Charity was, she was still hot. As for Harry, he wasn't really a fan of crying babies as their annoying high-pitched cries grated on his nerves.

To ease his boredom and to see how much he could piss them off, he began to tempt them, especially the children, and often was met with a glare from Charity and a sigh and a groan from Michael and Dresden respectively. But he merely met their disapproval with condescending sneer and dryly pointed out that it was his job to be a "Devil's advocate."

_'I would suggest a vacation but you have a tendency to spend a lot of money during the breaks.' _Meciel mused. _'So I think we should look for an opportunity to make more money.'_

"But we just earned lot of cash from Lara. She did reward quite well." Aries smirked as he remembered her _reward_.

"Money and sex. Greatest reward I could hope for." He sighed in content.

_'Your pursuit of carnal pleasure seems to be your only hobby. You should seriously consider other hobbies.'_ Meciel said wry amusement.

Aries opened one of his eyes as he felt Meciel's illusion materialize next to him without stopping his movements. She looked as beautiful as ever in her white and silver robes and her brilliant silver eyes were alight with fondness and exasperation.

"Why would I look for other hobbies when I already have one? Besides, having my penis buried deep within a hot girl is the best feeling ever." Aries smiled lazily.

_'I personally blame those porn magazines you found at the headquarter of Knights Templar.'_ Meciel rolled her eyes.

Aries sniggered as he remembered how he stumbled across those porn all those years ago. After meeting Dresden, he avidly read those magazines whenever he had free time. Meciel used to tease him mercilessly until his cheeks were beet red.

"Personally I blame you. You are a bad influence on me Meciel, what with being a Fallen Angel. Besides it doesn't help with the fact that I have the ultimate wet-dream living in my head." He drawled as he leered over at her perfect body.

_'You flatter me. However, I do distinctively remember you moaning and dreaming about a certain Winter Lady'_ Meciel said slyly.

Aries stuttered for a moment before scowling at her much to Meciel's amusement. She chuckled as she began to run her hands along his hair.

"Anyway I do have other hobbies like getting into fights and slaughtering my enemies. Also, how can we forget blackmails and extortion. It's so fun to bully them, especially the bullies themselves." He grumbled while Meciel's soft, tinkering laughter rang in his head.

_'Ah yes. You have a penchant for violence and I must say it's quite enjoyable when you blow things up or set them on fire.'_ Meciel mused. _'If I didn't know any better, I would say you are a pyromaniac.'_

"When in doubt blow it up. That's what we usually do anyway and it worked quite well." Said Aries as he fondly remembered all those things he blew up. The feeling of power he received as he rained down destruction on anything in his path always gave him a warm fuzzy feeling inside. He always felt so proud of himself during those times.

"Besides, what's wrong with having sex? Girls these days just don't understand the concept of casual sex. Spending your pastime having sex is the best way to spend it." Aries defended.

_'There is also a chance that you might be suffering from testosterone overload.' _Meciel said dryly.

"And whose fault is that? Your demonic presence overloads all my emotions, including lust." Aries smirked at her.

_'Touché.'_ Meciel rolled her eyes. _'For the record, I am nothing like those filthy scums you mentioned. I'm a Fallen not a demon.'_

"Whatever. In any case, we still haven't decided our destination." Aries hummed once more to the tune.

_'I was thinking of wand-wizarding world.'_ Said Meciel after a moment of silence.

Aries's eyebrows shot upward. "Wand-wizards? How come?"

_'They have some kind of World Cup going on. Remember?'_ Meciel asked patiently.

"No, not really. I really don't care about the wand-wizards in general." Aries brushed it off with a careless wave.

_'Typical of you to just brush things aside. Anyway, I heard a few wand-wizards discuss something about Quidditich World Cup when we were at the Leaky Cauldron reading about the Basilisk.'_ Meciel said in slight annoyed tone.

"Quidditich huh? Isn't that their sport? The one where you fly around with brooms?" He asked.

_'That's the one.'_ Meciel answered. _'And it's being held in England. Like all major events, there is bound to be an opportunity for us to make some quick cash.'_

"I like how you think Meciel." Said Aries with a devious grin.

Putting away his guitar, he waved his hand and the black trench coat flew toward him. Snatching it out of the air, he slipped in on while strapping his wands and a pistol. He slid Judgement into a long staff-like cane he made and twirled on his feet before disappearing with a loud crack.

.oOo.

It had taken Aries several hours to pinpoint the location of Quidditich World Cup. He had first travelled to Leaky Cauldron and asked few questions here and there and his telepathic ability was certainly useful in gleaming information from others' mind. It appeared that wand-wizards were holding the event in a muggle area and required portkeys to travel to the said location. He had to weed out the information from an ministry employee after a chance encounter in the Diagon Alley since the Leaky Cauldron's customers didn't know the exact location.

"Did you get the location?" Aries asked as he ate blueberry and vanilla ice cream with banana from outside table of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

_'I did. We can go as soon as you are done eating.'_ Meciel said as she materialized on the sit across him.

"You want try some? It's pretty good." Aries offered while savoring the taste. It had been a while since he ate such a delicious ice cream thanks to variety of supernatural freaks constantly trying to kill him.

_'I can taste it through you beloved. But thanks for the offer.' _Meciel said with a smile.

Aries gave her a devious smirk. "You know how you can make it even better? You bending over the table and letting me have my way with you."

_'It's probably a good thing that there are privacy wards over each tables. Otherwise, people would probably think of you as a pervert. Oh wait, you are a pervert.'_ Meciel chuckled as her host merely rolled his eyes.

"Hey, you are the one who suggested that I get a blueberry and vanilla ice cream with a banana. It's pretty much a phallic symbol covered in chilled bovine lactate! The only thing missing is that you didn't offer me your cherry." Aries said with a cheeky grin and let out a bark of laughter when Meciel sighed and muttered about hormonal teenage boys under her breath. Yet despite her grumbling, he could feel the distinctive part of his brain where Meciel resided flare with warmth.

He could feel her amusement at his antics and gave her his most charming grin with tad bit of smugness. Deciding to take it up a notch, he began to eat his ice cream with methodical slowness and deliberately let his tongue trace the spoon as he savored the flavor with relish. He first tried it during his time with White Court vampires and it ended up getting female vampires quite bothered and horny. One of them all but dragged him to an empty room before giving him a wonderful blowjob.

When he tried it on mortal girls who caught his fancy, they ended up blushing until their faces were tomato red and left them stuttering. It also didn't help that he was very easy on the eyes as well as giving them a wicked smile.

Meciel merely quirked her eyebrow at the challenge and he saw a flash of wicked gleam on her twinkling silver eyes. Instead of disappearing with soft, tinkling laughter like she usually did, Meciel leaned forward until her face was few centimeters away from his. Aries's breath hitched as his eyes widened at her generous view of cleavage that showed little more than she did normally.

_'My darling Aries, you are millennia too young to think something like that will work on me.'_ Meciel purred in slightly husky voice. He could feel her warm breath on his face and his nostrils flared as he caught her scent that sent a shiver of pleasure down his spine. His hands felt clammy and he laid them on the arms of the chair and his piercing emerald eyes met her brilliant silver eyes. He could feel his eyes flicking back and forth between her cleavage and her silver eyes, not knowing which one was more sexy.

_'Among the Fallen, I was quite famous for my seductive ability and I nearly rivaled Lasciel the Temptress in terms of seduction. Of course, while I wasn't as seductive as her, I was and still am the most beautiful of the 30 Fallen.'_ She gave a throaty laughter as she crawled over the table.

Aries could only barely stop himself from gaping as Meciel all but crawled over the table while displaying more cleavage than he thought possible. His eyes were entranced at the slow rise and fall of her breasts that followed her breath. He swallowed heavily at his suddenly dry throat as Meciel straddled him while pushing her chest forward, allowing her soft mounds to be pressed against his solid and muscled chest.

He could feel her body through the fabric of their clothes and his pants suddenly felt tight and confining. She felt so warm, so soft, and his head felt light from all the pleasure he was feeling at the moment. Hellfire rushed through his veins at his sudden spike of lust and sent even more pleasure throughout his body as intoxicating dark fire mixed with the feeling of Meciel's soft and delectable body.

It felt even better than Sephiria's and Lara's naked bodies. They were certainly very beautiful, but even the immortal vampires of the White Court couldn't match against Meciel's ethereal beauty, especially if she was the most beautiful of the 30 Fallens as she claimed. The only one who even came close to Meciel in terms of beauty and seduction was Maeve, the Winter Lady.

His entire body stiffened as he felt Meceil lean forward until her mouth was right next to his ear. He could hear the groan and cracking of the wooden chair as he tightened his grip on the chair, afraid that Meciel's illusion will disappear if his hands wandered her body.

_'You want this don't you? Tell you what, if you behave like a good boy and eliminate the Order of Blackened Denarius, I might give you more than just a peek.'_ Meciel whispered in his ear.

He couldn't stop the shiver of pleasure at their close proximity as well as her warm breath tickling his ear. His eyes were even darker than usual as the hazy of lust clouded his senses. Feeling little bit generous, she drew back before giving him a warm kiss on his cheek before disappearing in a flash of light.

He sat stock still until the arms of the wooden chair let out a final groan before cracking under Denarian's inhuman strength. The flare of pain shot through his hands and pierced the hazy of lust. Aries let out a deep, shuddering breath and shook his head to clear away the lust but it didn't help as much. He slowly release his death grip on the arms of the chair and immediately felt the skin regenerate themselves while ejecting the wooden splinters from his hands.

"You are such a tease Meciel. it's women like you who rapists claim the saying 'they wanted it' and get away with it on the court." He groaned.

_'Fuck this. There is no way I'm leaving in this state. I'm going to need a relief.'_ He snarled mentally. Aries could practically feel Meciel's smugness and felt her throb with amusement and delight at his predicament.

After paying for the ice cream he passed Flourish and Blotts Bookstore where he spied a pretty girl with waist length dark hair who looked little older than him. Judging by her attire, she seemed to be working as an employee.

_'Perhaps I wouldn't have to wait too long.'_ He thought as their eyes met when she looked up after dropping off the box she carried.

He gave her his most charming grin and saw her blush. Focusing his mind toward the girl, he walked into Flourish and Blotts.

.oOo.

Aries bended his knee from the impact and straightened up. He carelessly tossed away the quill he had turned into a porkey and grimaced as loud noises assaulted ears. All around him, people were bustling with excitement as they talked animatedly of upcoming match. Brightly colored tents were seen popping up here and there and some people were huddled around fire pits trying to light the fire with match sticks while grumbling at their failures.

_'We are about 2 hours late. That's 2 less hour to make profits.'_ Said Meciel.

"And whose fault is that? You left me all hot and bothered after your stunt back in the ice cream shop. It's not my fault that I ended up banging that girl from the book store." He grunted.

_'You were asking for it beloved.'_ Meciel said with touch of wry amusement. _'You should've known that your seduction technique doesn't work on me at all.'_

"Whatever." Aries grumbled. "But still, I think it was 2 hours well spent. I did end up getting a trophy after all."

He grinned as he fingered the girl's thong inside his coat pocket. After being teased by Meciel, he all but pounced on that cute girl he saw from the window. It took him nearly an hour to seduce and "seal the deal" and another hour to have a wild monkey sex in the basement. The girl was quite impressed by his stamina as well as his enthusiasm that she gave him her thong as a reminder.

Meciel was rolled her eyes and observed her surrounding with her host. As Aries walked toward the stadium, he saw occasional Obliviators who were stationed around here and there. He observed a ticket stand where a muggle was directing a group of family. The muggle seemed slightly bemused at the attire of many people and two Obliviators were nearby just in case their secrets were exposed.

"Evening!" Said the man as he addressed the next person.

"Good evening." Said the woman who stepped up to the front.

"Your name would be?"

"MacMillan."

"MacMillan...Ah! Here it is. Your tent is 3rd row near the right."

As the woman fumbled for the money. The muggle man looked curiously around him. "It's kind of weird. There are so many people here when it's not even a season for sport. There are even some funnily dressed people who paid me gold coin." He hummed.

As soon as he was finished, the one of the Obliviators flicked his wand and said _"Obliviate!"_

The muggle's expression went blank and accepted the money from the woman and directed her with monotone voice. Aries looked around him discreetly before applying strong disillusionment charm before slipping in along with the woman.

_'We still have about 4 hours before the match starts. Better get started.'_ Meciel informed him.

He hummed in agreement before cancelling the disillusionment charm since he didn't want to get ran over by some idiot. As the stadium grew closer, he could see more bustle as the number of people increased. He quirked an eyebrow when he saw a man rush past him wearing a muggle dress screaming at the ministry pursuer who was holding a pair of legging on his hand.

"There is no way I'll wear that horrible clothing! This is the proper robe for a wizard!" The freaky cross-dressed man shouted.

"You are wearing a dress! That clothing is for women only!" The ministry worker shouted back exasperatedly.

The cross-dressed idiot huffed before running off with other wizard in pursuit.

_'Ok. I would say that was amusing if not for the mind-scarring effect.'_ Aries snorted as he heard Meciel snigger with humor at the recent scene.

_'You took on Deirdre, a Red Court noble, a Basilisk, and other Denarians without fear and it takes crossed-dressed man to scar your mind?'_ Meciel choked out in between her sniggers.

He scowled as Meciel succumbed into laughter as she throbbed with amusement and a pleasant pulse of energy travelled throughout his body.

_'I'm glad I can be your source of entertainment. You truly make me feel better with your words of encouragement.'_ He thought dryly.

Sidestepping a drunken idiot who was heading his way, he turned his gaze upward as he took in the stadium. It was oval shaped and somewhat reminded him of the Coliseum with its architecture. Flicking his eyes downward, he spotted a rather shady part of area beneath the shadow of the stadium. There were still colorful tents all over the place but he could see some people near the shadow of the stadium were like those he could see in Knockturn Alley. More importantly, he could sense the emotions rolling off from them. Greed and focused determination seemed particularly strong inside a rather large tent that seemed to be slightly away from others.

_'Looks like we found our target.'_ Meciel murmured.

Striding forward the tent, he caught few eyes who looked at him suspiciously. Most people here seemed to be dressed in their traditional wizard robes while Aries was dressed in black leather trench coat with slim leggings as well as boots. His form fitting shirt was also black. Judgement was concealed inside a long staff looking cane and gave a subdued thump whenever it struck the grass covered ground.

In the front of the entrance to the tent stood two wizards. One was short and fat with a bald head while other was tall and lanky with gruff looking beards and the short one was carrying a writing pad as he checked off wizards or witches who stood in line. Ignoring the line completely and the protests from those in line, Aries strode forward until he was blocked by the two wizards

"Woah. You are not coming in." Said the tall one as his hand blocked his way while raising his hand to block him.

Aries quirked his eyebrow. "Any reason why?" He said coldly.

"You are not on the list. Besides, you are just a boy. This place is for the adults." The short man informed him while giving him a crooked grin.

"Run to your mama, boy. Come back when you turn into a real man like us." Sneered the tall one.

"Oh excuse me. I never knew you called yourselves men. I just thought you two were cock sucking twats with butt ugly faces." Aries mocked with bright cheerful voice.

"Why you little-" The taller one snarled as he pulled out his wand from his robes.

Faster than the eyes could blink, Aries whipped out his hand and batted the wand away while raising his leg and kneeing him in the gut. He swiftly turned and elbowed the fat one's face, breaking his nose. As the fat one stumbled back with a pained yell while clutching his now bloodied face, Aries pivoted and kicked the lanky wizard's face as he was doubled over while clutching his stomach from the earlier blow. His face snapped back from the blow and his body was lifted off from the ground before landing few feet away. Spinning around quickly, Aries gave a powerful upper cut to the howling fat wizard before he too, was lifted up from the ground before landing few feet away.

Aries snatched the notepad and the pen from the air all while his cold, condescending sneer never left his face. Clicking the pen, he wrote down something on the list of names on the paper before carelessly tossing the notepad on the unconscious fat wizard.

"I am now." He smirked down on the passed out idiot.

Without sparing a glance at the downed wizards or the horrified and murmuring of those around him, he flapped open the entrance to the tent and strode inside with smug smirk. The ones in the line stood still as they tried to get over their shock. Before long, they snapped out of it and strode into the tent like the teenage boy had done. No one bothered looking at the bloodied form of unconscious wizards or the notepad the strange kid had earlier wrote on.

The paper on the notepad was scribbled with two, big letters: Fuck You.

.oOo.

Benjamin Potter gave a smug smile as he straightened while noticing several people turn toward him with wide eyes after they saw his "S" shaped scar on his cheek. Behind him, he could feel his parents straightening themselves from after-effect of porkey as well as uncle Sirius and uncle Remus. He had been very excited when he first heard that the Quidditch World Cup will be held at England and since then, he had be impatiently waiting for the day to come.

Ignoring the looks people gave them, the Potters, Sirius and Remus made their way to the stadium. The crowd parted like the Red Sea and Benjamin couldn't help but to grin. It was good to be famous.

"Hey Ben! Wait up mate!" called out a familiar voice.

Turning toward the source of noise, he spotted a family of bright red hair make their way toward him. He grinned and waved back at the boy who was waving at him.

"Hey Ron! Good to see you mate!" Ben greeted back.

Ronald Weasley grinned as he grew closer with his family following behind him. "Can you believe it? We are about to see the Quidditich World Cup! And on the top seat too!"

The Weasley family had managed to win a raffle and received the top seat as a reward. He, on the other hand, was practically given the seat by the Minister due to his fame as the Boy-Who-Lived. Fudge was anxious to be in his good grace and always sucked up to him and Longbottom.

"This is awesome! We'll be meeting Neville and his family on the top box." Ben exclaimed.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Bill and Charlie. Fred, George, and Ginny." He greeted them.

Arthur Weasley gave him a smile while Mrs. Weasley bustled over and gave him a bone crushing hug. The twins sniggered in the background while Bill and Charley gave him a nod and a smile. Ginny, however, blushed slightly before stuttering out a greeting.

"James! Lily! It's so good to see you again. I see you brought Sirius and Remus also!" Said Molly Weasley as she moved onto his parents.

Brushing a strand of red hair over her face, Lily smiled at her. "Good to see you too Molly."

The differences between two women were quite obvious. Whereas Molly Weasley was short and plump, Lily Potter was slender and stood about few inches taller than her counterpart. Also, her red hair was noticeably of darker shade compared to Weasley's bright red hair and her almond-shaped emerald eyes stood out against her alabaster skin and dark red hair.

Meanwhile the twins were practically worshipping James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin with something akin to awe much to their amusement. As famous prankers in Hogwarts, they were enthralled by the infamous Marauders who preceded them. Their famous exploits were a legend among the hollowed halls and the staff still remembered them with a shiver. When they had first discovered that Benjamin Potter was a son of Marauders, they were floored and all but begged him to meet their idols. Although this wasn't their first time meeting the Marauders (except Peter who was kicked out for being a traitor) they were still awed by their presence.

"I think we should start heading up. We can talk more up there along with the Longbottoms." Said Lupin with a tired smile.

"Yes. Of course." Blushed Mrs. Weasley.

The group entered the stadium who were escorted by a Ministry worker and soon reached the top. There were already several people there as well as the Minister who was currently talking with Bulgarian Minister.

"Hey Neville! We are here!" Shouted Ben.

Neville Longbottom grinned at seeing his friends and quickly made his way over along with his family. Among them was a familiar hair of their bushy haired friend, Hermione. She had informed them that Longbottoms had kindly extended their invitation to her seeing as she was the one who kept the 3 boys in line at school. Her intelligence as well as her drive was well known throughout the school and she often came out in discussion when the members of the Golden Trio talked about their school life with their parents.

"Hey guys! Excited for the game?" Neville grinned.

"You bet! This has got to be the coolest event ever!" Ron exclaimed.

"Boys and their Quidditich." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Longbottom!" exclaimed a voice.

Turning away from the conversation, Ben saw Fudge make his way toward them. Stepping forward with pompous pose, he greeted the Minister.

"Good to see you again Minister." Said Ben.

"Greetings to you Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom." Said Fudge as Neville gave him his own greetings. He completely ignored Ron much to his annoyance and Ben and Neville didn't see the glint of jealousy that entered his eyes as they were too busy chatting up with the Minister.

"Malfoy." Frank Longbottom said curtly as he spotted a family of blond making their way up to the top seats. Ben and Neville turned around quickly from the conversation with Minister at the name and glared when they saw Draco Malfoy.

Lucius Malfoy narrowed his eyes and sneered distastefully at seeing his enemies. Potters, Longbottoms, and Weasleys were all gathered here as well as Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

"Longbottom, Potter and Weasley." Lucius Malfoy drawled as he coldly stared at them.

"Well if it isn't my cousin." Said Sirius as his eyes flickered to Narcissa Malfoy.

Narcissa Malfoy was the perfect image of pureblooded lady with her tall, slender figure and aristocratic features. Her pale blue eyes flickered at her cousin as well as her head of the family, and simply gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement. Ever since Sirius became the head of the Noble and Ancient House of Black, there had been more strain on their relationship. He had casted out Bellatrix from the House Black for being a Death Eater and reinstated Andromeda Tonks and her daughter back in to the family and he did not bother hiding his dislike of her husband and her son. He openly opposed many legislations Lucius proposed in Wizgamot along with James Potter and Frank Longbottom. However, he didn't actively provoke them but stood by his friends' side.

Ignoring his enemies, Lucius slightly bowed to Fudge. "Minister."

"Lucius!" Said Fudge jovially. It was well known that Lucius Malfoy did not get along with Potters and Longbottoms and had been nervous when his conversation with the Boys-Who-Lived had been interrupted. He didn't want any arguments to erupt as it would look bad in front of foreigners.

"Lady Malfoy and Mr. Malfoy." He greeted the tall, slender woman and the pale faced boy.

The Potters, Longbottoms, and Weasleys gazed at the Malfoy family with thinned lips and narrowed eyes. They all knew that Lucius was a Death Eater and didn't bother hiding their dislike.

Seeing that he was outnumbered and outmatched, Lucius gave them a one final sneer and led his family away from them and further into the top seat. Narcissa Malfoy coolly ignored everything but Draco Malfoy sneered at his schoolyard enemies just like his father had done.

"Slimy snakes. Of course they had to come here and ruin the mood." Ron muttered under his breath. As thick and headstrong as he was, he wasn't stupid enough to cause a scene in front of the Minister as well as other prominent figures in the Magical Community.

"We can't do anything but to ignore him. We'll deal with him at Hogwarts." Neville grumbled.

"Or we can prank him after the match. He'll be humiliated in front of the crowd." Said Ben with a devious grin.

"I like the idea mate but we better be careful though. Did you bring the invisibility cloak?" Ron said in hushed tone.

Ben shook his head in negative. "Why not set up the prank during the match? He'll never notice it." Neville said.

"I'm not sure if I want to miss the match. It's far too important." Ben grumbled.

"Ron! Neville! Ben!" Hermione hissed. "Don't try anything stupid. This is a public event and the last thing we need is for you to embarrass yourselves as well as your families."

Ron and Ben started as they had no idea that Hermione was listening in to their conversation and reluctantly agreed. They didn't want to find out how horrible their punishments will be if they ended up humiliating their families in the public.

"Guess we'll just have to wait. Besides, there are other important people here as well." Said Neville as he looked around.

Ben and Ron craned their necks and swept their eyes around the top seats. Indeed, there were other prominent figures of the Magical Community here. There were several families of political importance like the Greengrass, Bones, Notts, and Parkinson as well as several celebrities.

"Looks like Lucius went to his Death Eater buddies." Neville scowled as he observed Malfoys talking to Nott and Parkinson families.

Malfoys seemed to be talking something in hushed tones with Notts and Parkinsons and periodically tried to include the Greengrass family as well. However, their attempts seemed to be futile as whatever exchange was rather short.

"Old Lucy seemed to be having trouble with his allies." Ron chuckled as he looked at the exchange.

"I don't know. Greengrass doesn't seemed to like Malfoy that much." Said Neville as he closely observed the interaction between the "Death Eater families" and the Greengrass family.

"Aren't they Death Eaters as well?" Ron asked with frown.

"I'm not sure. I heard about them occasionally from my dad and uncles and they don't really hang out with the Malfoys and their ilk." Said Ben.

"You shouldn't just go around accusing people like that." Hermione lectured disapprovingly.

"But their Slytherins! All their families were slimy snakes." Ron hissed venomously.

"And their daughters are in Slytherins right now." Said Neville. He tilted his head toward their general directions. "Daphne Greengrass over there is the school Ice Queen."

The boys stared at their object of their discussion. Daphne Greengrass was known throughout the school as the infamous Slytherin Ice Queen. With slightly taller than average height and slender figure, she was the object of many sexual fantasies by the boys in school. She had dark hair that reached to her waist and seemed very soft and silky. Her piercing wintery blue eyes contrasted sharply against her raven black hair and porcelain skin and had the ability to pin any boys with merely a stare. She was considered as the prettiest girl in their year and one of the top girls in school in terms of look. Yet despite her very good looks, the boys knew better than to approach her since the ones who tried were often sent to the Hospital Wing.

She was one of the top students of their year and her skill with her wand was quite terrifying.

"Well it looks like Malfoy is utterly failing with her." Ben sniggered as he looked at Draco Malfoy talking to Greengrass. The other two boys sniggered along with him and even Hermione seemed amused.

Draco Malfoy seemed to be trying quite hard to engage in conversation with her by looking at how he was entirely facing her. Yet, Daphne Greengrass didn't even bother turning her body, or her head for the matter, to look at him and from the way Malfoy's pale face grew redder and redder, she was doing a fine job at ignoring him.

The Golden Trio, plus Hermione looked on with amusement at the scene and by chance, Malfoy's gaze turned to their direction after huffing irritably after his another unsuccessful attempt to talk to her. Ron, Neville, and Ben gave a smug smirk and a wink to piss him off and Malfoy gritted his teeth as he glared at them.

Although they would never admit it to anyone or themselves, Ron, Benjamin and Neville have at some point lusted (and still do) after her like many other boys have done but did not approach her due to her Slytherin status. It was too bad she's a slimy snake as Ron would put it, with a figure like that, they wouldn't have minded going after her despite her cold attitude.

Seeing that Malfoy transferred his gaze and seemed to be glaring at something, Daphne Greengrass turned her head to look at the direction of Malfoy's ire. She saw the Golden Trio as well as their sidekick Granger let out an amused snort. Typical of Malfoy and them to be in another glaring match.

_'Please let the match start. I'm getting sick of these idiots around me.' _She prayed.

Thankfully, it was at that moment when Ludo Bagman's voice rang across the stadium. "Ladies and gentlemen… welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

"Yes! Finally!" Ben exclaimed. He completely forgot about Malfoy and Greengrass and focused on the game as did Ron and Neville.

The spectators screamed and clapped. Thousands of flags waved, adding their discordant national anthems to the racket. The huge blackboard opposite them was wiped clear of its last message (Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans - A Risk With Every Mouthful!) and now showed BULGARIA: 0, IRELAND: 0.

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce… the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

The crowd started yelling and whistling as a large group of silver haired women walked onto the field wearing scarlet cheerleading outfits.

Veelas.

Music suddenly started and they started dancing, making the crowd go wild. Ben, Neville and Ron felt as if their mind had gone completely and blissfully blank. All that mattered in the world was the they kept watching the Veelas. They couldn't get enough of their soft skin that shone moon-bright, or their silky silvery blonde hair that fanned out behind them without wind. They swallowed their dry throat as their eyes trailed up and down their bodies. They made other women seem so inferior with their slender and delectable bodies.

Along with many others, they craned their heads to look at them. They needed to gain their attention, somehow set themselves apart from those in the crowd so that they could impress those silver-haired goddesses... Perhaps they would be impressed with his status as one of the Boys-Who-Lived? Ben thought desperately.

Daphne Greengrass watched with amusement and disgust as the men in the top box went slack-faced and drooled at the beautiful dancing Veelas. Looking around, she saw women show their displeasure as they looked at their husbands or friends with disgust or contempt. Turning her head, she smirked as she saw Draco Malfoy's slacked face. His eyes were glazed and vacant and she could see his mouth open and close as he gazed at the ground below with rapt attention much to Pansy Parkinson's annoyance. She was the only thing that prevented him from standing on the edge as if he would perform a dive. It was such a pity, it would be immensely helpful if Draco Malfoy fell off the edge.

She nudged her younger sister, Astoria, who was next to her and tilted her head toward Malfoy heir. Astoria giggled when she saw Draco Malfoy resting one of his legs on the wall of the box. Looking further, Daphne spotted Lucius Malfoy who surprisingly seemed unaffected by the Veelas. His face remained stoic and impassive and she detected something in his eyes other than lust. Something akin to...disdain?

Turning her gaze on the Golden Trio, she couldn't help but to let out a bark of laughter. Ron Weasley was in an attitude that looked as though he were about to dive from a springboard with Granger valiantly holding him back by his pants. Neville Longbottom was leaning forward from the rail as he all but gagged at the ethereal beauties dancing below with a trail of drool. Benjamin Potter was in the process of doing a dive motion like the idiotic Weasel and his mother and Weaselette seemed to be holding him back with disapproving scowls.

_'I'm definitely saving this memory for the Pensive.'_ She sniggered. Maybe this day wouldn't turn out to be so bad after all.

.oOo.

Aries quirked his eyebrow in amusement when the Veelas came out. He was currently sitting on the very top of stadium as he watched the ground below. Just few minutes ago, he came out of the tent he had earlier gone into and made his way toward the stadium. Inside the tent, there were many people sitting in tables making bets and gambling with their money. When he sat down to gamble, many older men sneered at him but their sneers were quickly wiped off from their mouth when he started making money at their expense.

_'Those fools never stood a chance. It's a pity that we can't go back there seeing as you ended up destroying the tent.'_ Meciel mused.

Aries felt his lips curl in a bloodthirsty grin. With his telepathic ability, it was simplicity itself to read his opponents minds and see through their bluffs. Whenever people lie, it creates an unease and anxiety within their minds and they practically signaled him that they were bluffing. There were few people who had rudimentary Occulemency shields but they weren't skilled enough to detect Aries from reading their minds, not that Occulemency can completely keep out a Telepath like him.

Also, thanks to Meciel he could sense their increase in heartbeats followed by increase in blood pressure as well as collecting moisture in their armpits and hands. All these biological signs combined with his mind-reading ability made sure that no liars would get through him except for the most talented of professional liars.

He was soon racking up Galleons after Galleons but not too quickly, since it would alert his opponents of his skill and discourage others from participating. He had taunted and gloated the men into keep participating that 15 year old teenager like him was kicking their grown and useless asses. Many of them ended up losing all their money and unsurprisingly, one of them snapped and tried to attack him.

Aries quickly gathered his money and dispatched all those who attack him with ease. It was rather disappointing how weak and useless these wand-wizards were. The various spells that flew around ended up blowing up the tent and alerted the Aurors. He quickly vacated the scene and headed up to the top of the stadium since he was curious and had nothing else to do.

"Technically speaking, those idiots destroyed the tent not me." Aries said lazily. "Just because I blow up almost everything doesn't mean I blew up that tent."

_'Yes beloved, that's why you used that exploding spell.'_ Said Meciel dryly.

Aries ignored her in favor of watching Veelas dance. He closed his eyes before opening with the Third Sight and immediately cringed at the intensity of lights. Slowly opening his eyes, he was quite impressed by the intensity of magic around him. All though so many of wand-wizards were worthless weaklings, there were so many of them gathered in one place and the air hummed with magic. Flicking his eyes at the Veelas, his eyebrows shot up in surprise, each Veelas radiated soft, golden aura around them that bathed the stadium with its glow.

_'The Veela Allure.'_ Meciel murmured.

The Veela Allure was nothing to him. After spending his time with the White Court vampires who possessed psychic powers and meeting Maeve, their Allure was almost like a child play. Fae's Glamour was much stronger and he was able to resist the Winter Lady's in Nevernever, albeit barely.

Looking closely at the Veelas, he could see something bird-like hidden inside them while something resembling a pool of liquid fire intermingled with their bird-form.

The Lustfire.

He could see the rolling emotions clinging around them. Passion, love, and sensuality seemed to radiate from their very beings. Although they weren't immortals, he was still quite impressed. It's not easy living up to the standard of Fallen Angels, Faes, and White Court vampires.

Aries turned off the Third Sight and leaned back as Meciel materialized behind him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed at the dancing Veelas with small amusement.

_'Veelas are a being of passion and love. I'll admit, they are very beautiful for mortals but they are nowhere near my level.' _Meciel whispered in his ear.

Aries hummed in agreement and leaned back as he grinned in satisfaction when Meciel's boobs pressed onto his back.

"I definitely gotta score with one of them. They're fucking hot." He commented.

Meciel rolled her eyes and together, the Fallen and her host watched the game unfold.

.oOo.

Aries yawned as he walked out of the stadium. The stars twinkled across the night sky and the air was filled with celebration and joy as the crowd eagerly recounted the details of the match. He could already see several people staggering around drunk with bottles of alcohol.

"Well should we get going or stay and look for another opportunity to make cash?" Aries asked.

_'There are still some chance that gambling are taking place even though you ended up blowing up that tent.'_ Meciel mused. _'Besides, with the number of drunks as well as the noise, it will be easy for you to pickpocket them.'_

Aries hummed in agreement before stalking towards his victims. Weaving through the crowds with expertise he developed over the years he lived out on the streets, his nimble hands began to snatch valuables from many wizards and witches. They didn't even knew when he was stealing from them due to the amount of distractions around them. Chattering of noise and bustle of the people were more than enough to hide the young thief and it certainly helped that most of them were already intoxicated with alcohol to a degree.

Aries didn't bother using his wands as he wandlessly summoned a small pouch from the wizard he was passing by. The wizard in question was talking animatedly with his friends to notice his bag of gold from leaving his robes. The wandless magic was rather difficult to learn at first but through sheer determination and practice, Aries had become rather good at it over the years. He couldn't cast any taxing spells but it was enough to cast simple charms as well as moving objects around him with ease.

He was having quite bit of fun as he pick pocketed the idiots until someone bumped into his side rather forcibly. Scowling in irritation, he turned toward the brainless moron who ran into him. The person was completely knocked onto the ground from the impact while he merely took a step back.

A boy with pale blond hair and skin was knocked onto his butt as he glared up at him from the ground. Judging by his size, Aries assumed him to be around his age. He had a pointed face and dull grey eyes whose face was contorted in furious expression. He kind of reminded him of a ferret.

"How dare you run into me you filth! Don't you know how to respect your betters?" The boy shouted at him angrily as he picked himself back up from the ground.

"_You_ are the one who ran into _me_, you moron. Are you blind? Watch where you are going." Aries coldly replied while giving him a glare.

If anything, the boy grew more apoplectic with rage as his pale face flushed. "Do you know who I am? I'm Draco Malfoy, the heir of the Malfoy House! I'm the purest of the pureblood! I'm much better than a bottom feeder like you!"

The people around them gasped in surprise at the proclamation.

"I don't give a flying fuck about who you are little boy. You are a pasty cream of semen covered homosexual who obviously lack brain capacity." Aries sneered at him while the boy, who called himself Draco Malfoy, gaped at him like a stupid fish out of the water.

"Wait until my father hears about this!" Draco Malfoy exploded after gaping for several moments at the insult. Almost no one dared to throw an insult at his face and to his shock, he wasn't able to find a reply. Not even those thrice damned Golden Trio managed to insult him like this.

"Wait until my father hears about this!" Aries mimicked with his best high-pitched, school girl voice. "You are nearly as old as me and you are still such a daddy's boy!"

Aries barked out a laughter at the other boy's furious expression. "Run along to your daddy little boy. Are you sure you are a boy? You sure act like a daddy's little girl. Why don't you run crying to your precious daddy and while at it, suck his cock like a good homosexual little boy. Or better yet, ask him for a sex change since you are soooo much in love with your daddy." He said in his best mocking voice. Few people in crowd chocked at the insult and some of them let out a suppressed laughter as they valiantly tried to not break down guffawing.

He almost doubled over in laughter at the scream of rage this retarded runt let out. Aries watched with cold sneer as Malfoy boy whipped out his wand from his robes but his was already out and pointing at him.

"Draco. What is going on here?" A cold voice cut through the tension like a knife.

Draco Malfoy spun around and saw the imposing figure of his father striding toward him along with his mother. The crowd parted as people scrambled to get out of his way.

"Well? Aren't you going to answer me?" Lucius drawled after few moments of silence as Draco Malfoy sputtered for an explanation.

Transferring his gaze to Aries, Lucius felt his eyes widen in surprise. Standing before him and his son with his wand pointed at Draco, was almost carbon copy of James Potter. He had the same messy, jet black hair and his features but unlike that accursed Potter, the boy's hair was nearly reaching his chin and his eyes were emerald green.

James Potter had brown eyes and wore glasses but this stranger had dark emerald eyes that glowed eerily like Avada Kedavra curse and seemed to pierce everything with its penetrating gaze.

"Who are you stranger? And why are you pointing the wand at my son?" Lucius asked with a hint of steel in his voice.

Aries's eyes flickered to the tall, long-haired blond man but didn't let the stupid kid out of his sight and didn't lower his wand in the slightest.

_'Must be this moron's parents.'_ He deduced as he took in similar pale blond hair.

"Oh me? I'm your neighborhood sex therapist and I was about to perform a sex therapy on your son by slicing off his balls. Your son told me how he wanted to be a girl considering he's already a daddy's little princess." Aries said in fake, cheerful voice.

Lucius almost sputtered and lost control of his expression. Draco, however, gaped again at such indignation.

"He's _very_ much in love with his daddy and I decided to help out by turning him into a girl so it would be less awkward for him to express his twisted sense of love." Aries concluded with a mocking grin. He could hear Meciel's soft laughter at his insults and felt familiar rush of warmth that spread throughout his body.

Draco made chocking sound at the proclamation and his jaw dropped once again in less than one minute.

"Enough." Narcissa Malfoy hissed as she stepped forward next to her husband. Up until now, she had been coolly observing the scene and knew she would've been quite amused at the insults if not for the fact that her family was being targeted.

"Drop your wand boy. You already made a grave mistake by antagonizing us." She growled in warning.

"Tell your kid to drop his wand first. He has no sense of manners." Aries retorted.

"Drop the wand boy or you will pay for your insults." Lucius hissed coldly as he also took out his wand from his cane and pointed at him along with his wife.

The small tickle of hellfire that had been flowing into him since the beginning of confrontation increased into a steady flow as he embraced the dark power for a possible fight. The crowd stepped back, as they too, sensed the brewing tension.

Aries gave a cold, mocking smile. "I'd like to see you try."

He felt familiar excitement growing in him. He always loved good fights and beating the crap out of these pompous blue bloods will definitely be satisfying for the night. He could feel their emotions as it coiled around them for release. He could practically hear the thoughts from the kid but the two adults were rather difficult as their mind seemed guarded and closed off by a barrier.

_'Must be Occulemency'_ He thought.

Still, he could feel their intention and readiness to act on moment's notice.

The standoff was broken when a burst of red light erupted from the Draco Malfoy's wand. Aries immediately sidestepped the curse and pivoted and ducked as two more curses head toward him from the boy's parents.

Pointing his wand at the parents, he quickly hissed out series of spells. _"Reducto! Bombarda! Arcus Fulmine!"_

The runes on his Holly and Phoenix feather wand glowed as hellfire flared and strengthened the spells. It was a pity he couldn't use the dark spells he normally used to destroy his enemies since it would turn these dumbassed family into a bloody paste.

The two blasting curses shot toward Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy with startling speed and they had no choice to but abandon their next attacks and put up the shields since it was too late for them to dodge. A pale, shimmering shield of light formed around them and they flared red as the two curses collided against them. Lucius and Narcissa gritted their teeth as their shield flickered wildly before nearly collapsing under the power of hellfire-enhanced curses.

The moment first two curses disappeared, a bolt of lightning crashed against their weakened shield before easily smashing through it and blasting them few feet away. They yelled out in pain and shock as the lightning burned their skins and fried their nerves.

Aries didn't even hesitate to look after sending those spells at the boy's parents, instead he continued onward toward the little runt who was about to fire his second curse. The end of the boy's wand glowed bright yellow as a spell was about to leave it. Lashing out with his hand, he knocked the wand away from him and pointed it to the sky where a sickly yellow curse shot upward. Aries channeled the lightning at the tip of his wand and stabbed Malfoy boy and watched with savage glee as he let out a screeching shriek like a little girl.

Before Malfoy could stumble back from pain, he punched his cheek and his face snapped to the side from the impact. Not even giving him chance to recover, he lifted his leg and kicked his side where kidney was located. He felt the ribs crack under the force of kick and knew he wouldn't be getting up any time soon.

He immediately sidestepped the curse from Lucius before twirling around to dodge another curse from his wife and yelled out _"Lumos Maxima!"_

The bright light erupted from his wand and blinded them as well as the crowd for few moments. Aries winced and squeezed his eyes to block out the light as he stepped forward and punched the tall blond man in the face. He heard satisfying crack of his nose and watched him lift from the ground before landing a foot away due to his unholy strength.

Narcissa let out a snarl as the bright light disappeared and felt light headed with all the spots and flickers of colors on her vision just enough to see her husband getting knocked away by a muggle move of all things.

She raised her wand to curse her opponent but Aries lashed out with his foot and kicked her behind the knee, forcing her to stumble and let the curse fly few feet away from him. Stepping forward, he jabbed the woman hard twice on her sternum.

Narcissa felt her breath leave in a whoosh at his punches and coughed out bit of blood. Grabbing her by the back of the neck, Aries spun around and threw the woman where she landed haphazardly on top of her groaning son.

He immediately ducked as a dark cutting curse flew just where his head was a moment ago and dashed to where Lucius was. He was still on the ground and had cast the spell while trying to get up as he unsuccessfully clutched his face in pain.

_"Expelliarmus!"_ Aries hissed out in cold anger. He very wanted to turn this arrogant fool into chunks of flesh but it wouldn't do well to get him into further trouble with the wand-wizards. He didn't fear them as they lacked talents and power but they had the potential to be _very_ annoying.

Lucius's wand flew from his grasp and Aries closed in on him and punched him on his face once more. Lucius fell back with a yell of pain and Aries gave a feral grin before drawing his leg back and kicking the worthless man on his family jewels. He squealed like a pig and immediately curled up in fetal position.

The fight was over far too quickly for him to enjoy it but there was a certain thrill to beat down the arrogant pure-blood family muggle style. He very much enjoyed slaughtering his enemies using dark spells to turn their death quite interesting but sometimes it didn't feel as good as using his fists and kicks.

Aries took a deep calming breath as he let the hellfire fade away before observing the area around him. The boy was groaning as he clutched his side where he had kicked him, breaking his rib. The woman had moved off of the boy and was curled up holding her sternum as she tried to get the breath back into her body while her retarded husband was holding his family jewel as he gasped out in pain.

The Malfoy family had utterly lost.

The crowd was silent as they watched the mysterious young man who flat out knocked out one of the most powerful families on Magical Britain in a span of a minute.

Aries let out a dark laughter at the sight that greeted him. "How pathetic. So much for being what was it? Ah yes, being a something of pure blood or whatever shit."

His lips curled into a mocking grin as he taunted once arrogant family. Sneering with distaste, he was about to leave when he spotted the fancy looking cane the blonde man was wielding. He picked up the cane and whistled in appreciation. It was sleek with black wood and the tip was covered with silver. The head of rising snake adorned the end of the cane and it was silver with emerald as its eyes.

"Damn this is one hell of a pimp cane! I think I'll take this as a trophy and a souvenir." He grinned.

With one last mocking wave, he strode away with his newly found pimp cane. Leaving a humiliated family of blond among the silent and wide-eyed crowd.

.oOo.

Aries hummed as he weaved through the crowd. It was quite satisfying to beat those idiot blondes and he even got a fancy looking cane as a trophy!

_'Not bad beloved, not bad at all. I must say, it was quite fun watching you beat those worthless fools onto the ground.'_ Meciel chuckled.

"I know right? I even got this babe as a souvenir!" Aries said with excitement as he looked at his newly designated pimp cane.

"I got the pimp cane, and all I need is women." He grinned, feeling pleased with himself.

_'You are going to need more than just a cane to be a pimp. Pimps dress with style.'_ Meciel said in wry amusement.

"Yea yea. Whatever. I made quite cash today so we'll be able to buy some fancy looking clothes for me." Aries rolled his eyes good naturedly.

_'For the record, I'll be the one to choose which clothes you buy. I refuse to have my host dressed in those filthy, grubby clothes you used to wear.'_ Meciel deadpanned_. 'You must look glorious and graceful as you butcher our enemies into bloody paste. Not to mention, you need to be stylish in both looks and killing.'_

Aries blinked. "Wow you must put some thoughts into this. I never took you to be vain."

_'Work with me here Aries. I'm not as vain as some Fallens but I did make my previous hosts dress fancifully.' _Meciel said with exasperated sigh.

"I wonder if Sephiria and Lara will be willing to be my girls." He hummed as he changed the topic. "It's too bad you don't have a physical body Meciel. I would love to have you in my harem. You'll be my favorite of course."

A scream of terror broke his conversation. Snapping his head toward the source of sound, he frowned as he felt sheer terror and panic settle amongst the crowd. He hissed in annoyance as their panic created a ripple effect of terror as more and more people became caught up. The people scrambled to their feet and were soon stampeding away from the source. Amidst the panic and terror, he could feel the malicious intent, sadistic pleasure, and savage glee from where it all started.

He quickly strapped the pimp cane and the cane that concealed Judgement onto his back just as chaos erupted around him.

Aries snarled in annoyance as people ran to the nearest forest like headless chickens while slamming into him. Punching the terrified idiot who ran into him, he felt his patience snap. Whipping out both wands, Aries began to banish anyone who came close or were about to slam into him. He didn't care about the fact that these people were terrified or not thinking straight. He didn't see himself as a nice or merciful person and thus had no problem blasting back anyone who were about to run into him.

_'Fucking idiots! They should think twice before slamming into me!' _He mentally snarled as he blasted back a terrified group who were about to slam into him.

The group screamed out in high pitched voices which grated on his nerves before running away from him.

_'That's better.'_ He smirked.

He could still hear the fearful cries of people as they were separated from their companions and screamed out the names of their missing friends and family while running toward the safety of the forest but he just grimaced in annoyance at the pandemonium around him. He leisurely walked past the camp site onto where he felt the disturbance. He wasn't in a hurry and was merely curious and annoyed, although it was most likely that he would end up getting into fights with whoever started this fiasco.

Aries could now hear noises like gunfire and saw odd flashes of light amongst the loud jeering, roars of laughter, and drunken yells drifting toward him. A crowd of wizards were tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upward, marching slowly across the field in phalanx formation. All of them were hooded and their faces masked with white mask.

_'Death Eaters. The servants and followers of Voldemort. I heard lots of wand-wizards are afraid of them.'_ Meciel whispered with curiosity. _'What are they doing here?'_

Floating in the midair above them, he observed four struggling figures. Two of the figures were very small and his eyes flickered to more wand-wizards joining the marching group as they laughed and pointed up at the floating bodies.

Aries glared at them with irritation. This was what these so called Death Eaters interrupted his day? Pathetic.

"I don't give a shit of who they are. They interrupted my day and they're going to pay." He hissed.

He felt familiar bloodthirsty grin lit up his face. "It was nice of them to volunteer for the upcoming slaughter. It will be fun as I rip them apart."

With hellfire roaring through him, he whipped both his wands at the group and hissed out _"Frendo!"_

A dull roar rang through the air as sapphire lights erupted from his wands and his arms trembled from the force of the spell for a moment. The dark curses shot toward the tightly packed group of Death Eaters and he watched with malicious grin as they were literally blown apart. The ones in center were just turned into bloody paste while those further away were blown back along with several flying body parts.

Just as the curses left his wands, he was on the move as he kept himself out of their sights. Melding into the shadows of nearest tent, he hissed out another spell _"Siagrus!"_

This time, one of the Death Eater was able to spot it before warning his friends as he rolled out of the way. Several Death Eaters immediately complied but slower ones were caught as well as the idiots who joined along in the muggle torturing. Those caught exploded in a shower of blood and gore.

"Bloody hell!"

"What just happened?"

"Who's attacking us?"

The Death Eaters began to yell out in shock. Ever since the Voldemort's downfall, they had not been active and this was the first time in nearly 14 years that many of them got into a fight. In the First War, they were used to throwing around dark curses while Aurors only threw back "light" spells, in another words, weak spells like stunning or disarming spells. They were not used to fighting a foe who threw back dark spells at them with even more viciousness.

In desperation, they began to throw around curses randomly everywhere around them. Aries easily weaved through bursts of lights that flashed past him while returning the favor in kind.

_"Argentum Telum!"_ He snapped. A silvery light shot out from his wand and pierced one of the Death Eaters along with two idiots who joined them. Blood sprayed out from their wounds and their mouth before they crumbled while choking on their blood.

_"Mosmorde!"_ A cold voice rang out through the battle.

Away from the scene of the battle, near the edge of the forest, something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the darkness. On the night sky, a mark burned brightly. It was a colossal skull, made up of something akin to emerald stars, with a snake protruding from its mouth like a tongue.

The Death Eaters immediately began to scream and run off. Loud pops and cracks sounded throughout the destroyed fields as they frantically portkeyed or apparated out from the scene. Aries could only observe with bemusement as soon he was the only one left on the field.

"Meciel what the hell is that?" Asked Aries while making a face. It looked quite ugly and disgusting.

_'I believe it's what wand-wizards call the Dark Mark.'_ Meciel informed him as she observed it.

"What's the Dark Mark?"

_'It's the mark of Voldemort. English wizards seems to fear it with unnatural terror.'_ Meciel sighed. _'You really should pay more attention to your surroundings. Especially in regards to information.'_

Aries merely grunted at her slight admonishment. "So you say they fear it?"

"Meciel can you analyze the structure of the spell? I think the spell was called Mosmorde or something like that." Aries asked after a moment of silence.

_'I'm already doing it. It's very unique. Why do you ask?'_ Meciel asked curiously.

Aries gave a devious smirk. "I think we should help the people cure their fear of the mark."

Meciel caught flashes of ideas in his head and let out a bark of laughter. _'Hmmm. You might want to let me take control for that.'_

Relinquishing the control, Aries felt himself retreating deep into his mind while the area he associated with Meciel burned. He soon felt her ancient and encompassing presence flood his fore mind and his body began to move at her command.

Carefully observing the mark above them, Meciel began to weave complex magic to his sudden inspiration. Thrusting the wand toward the heaven, he saw something vast erupt from the end of his wand.

Stretched across the night sky next to the grotesque skull was an image of a man. By analyzing the Dark Mark, Meciel was able to use its property to summon the image Aries wanted onto the sky.

Twinkling like a ruby star, the image of Lucius Malfoy stood next to the green skull. The image Lucius began to untie his robes before whipping out his boner and proceeded to shove it down the throat of the grotesque skull, while thrusting the hips forward. Literally skull fucking it.

Meciel receded back into his mind and the Fallen and her host began to let out a boisterous laughter.

_'Congratulations beloved. You just made your fist porn doodle and in rather spectacular fashion if I may add.'_ Meciel sniggered at him_. 'Although I never thought you would swing that way.'_

"Oh shut up Meciel." Aries rolled his eyes as he examined his handiwork with a proud grin.

Pops began to fill the area and he heard increasing volume of voices. "Well looks like the Aurors are _finally_ here." He sneered at the direction of noise.

Taking a one last look at the image of the Malfoy man skull fucking the skull, he disappeared with a laughter as he apparated away.


	10. The Goblet of Fire

**Announcement****: I have been receiving several reviews of how Aries's full name was rather a crack pot. Looking back, I can't help but to agree and cringe from it with embarrassment. (It was much too like those names in childish cartoons.) In my defense, it was quite late at night when I came up with the Aries's original name. I was tired from lack of sleep. Personally I think it was my off day when I came up with it. Anyway, the new name I decided for Aries will be Aries Estel Angelos.**

**I already replaced the chapters 3 and 7 where his full name were mentioned.**

**So Harry's new full name is Aries Estel Angelos.**

* * *

The Goblet of Fire

Amelia Bones, the Director of Magical Law Enforcement, sighed for the nth time today. She heavily leaned back on the chair as she scowled at the stacks of paper waiting to be finished. As the head of Magical Law Enforcement, she, like many others, were forced to finish numerous paper works and it was honestly one of the most boring experience that anyone could go through.

It was the bane of any worker's existence.

Deciding to ignore it for a moment, she turned her attention to the most recent problem. It had been nearly 4 days since the incident at Quidditich World Cup. 4 days since the reappearance of the Death Eaters and the Dark Mark after nearly 14 years of peace. She vividly remembered the panic that settled on the crowd when Death Eaters made their appearance, they had all but ran in terror at the mere sight of the infamous servants of the Dark Lord and the Dark Mark certainly didn't help.

But something went wrong.

Something unexpected occurred.

She remembered arriving on the scene after making sure her niece, Susan Bones, was safely escorted to their manor before assembling a team of Hit Wizards and Aurors, as well as several Unspeakables. If it wasn't for the incompetence of Fudge, they would've been able to react much more efficiently. That pompous and arrogant idiot was all talk and no bite. He had all but cowered and immediately fled the scene while taking entire squads of Aurors that she had placed around the stadium, leaving the rest woefully unguarded.

It was only after that Death Eaters had fled that she and her team was able to arrive at the stadium only to witness the Dark Mark sparkling on the night sky. Along with its new partner of course.

Next to the Mark, there was another mark similar to it. Sparkling like ruby stars, an image that looked disturbingly like Lucius Malfoy was literally skull-fucking the grotesque skull across the night sky. The snake that came out of the skull hissed and tried to bite the image-Lucius but the man simply grabbed the snake by its neck and held it away from him while thrusting his hips forward with more force.

Amelia prided in herself as a tough woman. She didn't need a man in her life to navigate her path. She rose through the ranks of Ministry and the bigotry of Wizarding World to become one of the most powerful person in the government through her dedication and skill. In the world where the society looked at women as mere commodity and tools to produce offspring, she had conquered the challenges thrown at her and emerged triumphant.

Flashback

_She had seen many crazy things in life but the sight greeted her just took the cake. Never in her wildest imagination, she expected to see such blatant mockery of the Dark Mark and Voldemort. But there it was, an image resembling that arrogant Lucius Malfoy beating the tar out of the most feared mark in history. Quite literally._

_Her jaw simply dropped at the sight and she blurted out "What the fuck!"_

_It was only because of her decades of discipline and self-control that she didn't let go of her wand in shock. Normally, people would have stared at the stern witch lose her cool like that but they were too busy themselves to point it out to her. She could hear gasps of surprise behind her and knew without turning that many of them were turning a shade green at the porn doodle above them._

_Soon enough, several Aurors started puking their guts out as well as some Hit Wizards. Even the few Unspeakables in their group seemed rooted to their place and gawked at the sight like amateurs. After few moments, she was able to snap out of her shock and led her group through the abandoned ground as they shot glances at the sky now and then where image-Lucius was shoving his penis down the Dark Mark's throat._

_While searching the ground they came across a rather gruesome scene where corpses lay strewn here and there with blood and gore decorating a wide area. There were several body parts lying here and there and the center of the mass seemed as if someone had taking humans and turned them into a bloody pie._

_"Death Eaters" One of the Hit Wizards hissed after confirming their usual black robes and white masks._

_"But who could've done this?" Asked one of the Aurors as they looked around confusedly._

_"One of ours perhaps?" Answered one of them._

_"I don't think it's one of ours." Answered an Unspeakable after a moment of silence. "Judging by the way these Death Eaters were killed, the spells used were very dark."_

_It was true. Aurors were forbidden to use any Unforgivables and any use of dark arts would land them in Azkaban. _

_"Whoever did this seemed to have used dark blasting curse, cutting curse and pulverizing curse." Amelia said grimly as she swallowed hard after looking at a particularly gruesome corpse with its entrails half smashed._

_"Director! There are Goyle senior and Crabbe senior here!" Exclaimed one of the Hit Wizards._

_Stumbling toward him, Amelia saw that it was indeed Goyle and Crabbe seniors. The Hit Wizards had removed the masks from their faces and their glazed eyes stared at them with look of shock and fear._

_"There are also Macnair and Evan Rosier!" Shouted an Unspeakable._

_"Some of these bodies are not Death Eaters!" Shouted an Auror._

_Amelia frowned as she began to examine the identities of dead. The Death Eaters didn't surprise her, they were those who claimed to be under Imperius curse during the First War and well known dark families. The none Death Eaters, on the other hand, were either those who attacked the dark wizards, innocents who got caught in the cross fire, or allies of Death Eaters._

_"Alright. Send for the investigation team and check for any wands around the area! We may be able to recognize the identities of the dead!" Amelia ordered._

_The team nodded at her command and spread out to cover the area._

Flashback Ends

Amelia blinked as she came out of her memory. They had managed to retrieve the wands of the fallen and confirmed the identities with Ollivander. The fact that these Death Eaters were those proclaiming to be under Imperius curse immediately rose suspicion and during the emergency Wizgamot meeting on following day, Longbottoms and Potters, as well as other 'Light' families, all but demanded the suspected Death Eater families be searched and questioned. The public demanded answers and many of the former and suspected Death Eaters were now under a close scrutiny.

Snorting at the excuses that the 'Dark' families gave, she picked up the Daily Prophet which proclaimed the Quidditich World Cup incident for the world to see a day after the fiasco.

_**Daily Prophet**_

_**Dark Mark Appears After 14 Years!**_

_**A New Mark to Mock the Dark Mark!**_

_**Several Death Eaters Killed!**_

_By Rita Skeeter_

_Just yesterday, after the Quidditich World Cup, the Dark Mark and the Death Eaters appeared after nearly 14 years of absence. After the Dark Lord's defeat at the Boys-Who-Lived, Benjamin Potter and Neville Longbottom, the Death Eaters had all but disappeared or imprisoned in Azkaban. Few hours after the end of Quidditich World Cup, it was reported that Death Eaters showed up and began terrorizing the people before disappearing when the Dark Mark appeared on the sky. When the team of Aurors, Hit-Wizards, and Unspeakables arrived on the scene under the command of Amelia Bones, the Director of Magical Law Enforcement, several corpses of Death Eaters already littered the area. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the identities of the dead were Goyle and Crabbe Senior as well as Macnair and Evan Rosier, along with several others. As you know, they were well known as the suspected (or former) Death Eaters during the First War who pleaded innocent by claiming that they were under the Imperius curse throughout the war._

_Also, as you can see on the picture above, there is another mark next to the Dark Mark. The image is that of a man with similar feature to the Lucius Malfoy, head of the Malfoy family. Several witnesses said that this mark appeared briefly after the Dark Mark. It is very likely that whoever killed the Death Eaters also created the rather mocking mark as to taunt them._

_As of the moment, there are no lead upon who had committed these acts and the deeds were received with mixed feelings. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister, and Dolores Umbridge, Undersecretary of Minister, openly denounced it as a "heinous crime" for clearly the spells used were Dark Arts and is supported by the Mafoy, Parkinson, Nott, and others. Meanwhile, Longbottom, Potter, and Black congratulated whoever responsible for "ridding the Wizarding World of scums."_

_For further information turn to page 2._

She chuckled as she looked at the picture. As disgusting and mind-scarring as it was, it was definitely satisfying to see a Lucius-look alike painted across the night sky. The fact that he was a Death Eater made things so much sweeter.

Her own views were rather mixed and undecided. While she certainly approved of eliminating the Death Eaters but wasn't so sure about the use of Dark Arts. Was this person truly a hero? She pondered. If so, why use Dark Arts? What if this person was another Dark Wizard?

She sighed once again. There wasn't anything the Ministry could do at the moment. There were no traces of whoever could be responsible and they had no idea where to look for it either. Only thing left to do was to wait. She was certain that whoever did this would eventually show him or herself.

_'There isn't much point pondering this dilemma, I might as well finish the paperwork.'_ She thought gloomily.

Looking back at the stacks of paper, Amelia let out another groan.

Time to get back to work.

.oOo.

Lucius Malfoy fumed as he scowled at nothing particular. The night after the Quidditich World Cup was the single most humiliating experience in his life. Not only had he been humiliated along with his family but it was done by a kid no less! To make things worse, he lost his beloved pimp cane to the brat!

Judging by the boy's height, he seemed to be around Draco's age and disturbingly looked like that hated James Potter. Draco confirmed that he wasn't a Hogwarts student since he never saw someone like him before. He would've already heard anyone like him long before.

Swallowing his rage and bitterness, he carefully examined the encounter for the nth time in 4 days. The fight had lasted only few minutes but within that time he had learned that the brat was definitely skilled seeing how he utterly destroyed and humiliated him. The speed and strength of the spells cast were almost unbelievable. He was very fast and his blasting curses would have tore through the shields he and his wife formed if not for the fact that they were pouring lot of their magic into it. Even then, the shield barely held against the curses.

_Protego _was not exactly the strongest shield but rather standard. It would protect the users against stunning or disarming spells and could even hold out against blasting spells if the magic poured in was strong enough. However, it quickly crumbled under stronger spells. Depending on the amount of magic one poured in, they could even protect the user from more powerful curses. The fact that his shield nearly broke down despite pouring his magic spoke of the power this boy wielded.

Returning back to the memory, he couldn't help but to grimace as he remembered the bolt of lightning that followed up the curses as it smashed through their already weakened shields and fried their skins. There weren't many wizards that could command such high leveled spells like summoning the bolt of lightning. Rank-and-file Death Eaters weren't that much of a threat like their foolish counterparts in Ministry or the Order of Phoenix. Even the Inner Members of the Death Eaters would have been troubled to do what this mystery boy did.

Finally, he let out a snarl as he remembered how his family were beaten to the ground muggle style of all things. He expected to be retaliated through spells NOT a fist to his face or a kick to his family jewels.

_'Just who is this boy?'_ He wondered again. _'He shares an uncanny resemblance with that James Potter and the only Potters alive today are him and his despicable spawn, Benjamin Potter.'_

Was he a relative of the Potter? Judging by his look, it was plausible.

_'Perhaps a bastard child?'_ He thought. _'That would be quite useful if it was true.'_

He mused on the idea before deciding to look further into the Potter family history. He had already researched everything about the Potter family after the incident but nothing solid came out. He might have to use his Ministry connections and call in several favors as well as tail James Potter.

With the course of action decided, he turned his attention to other matter: the slaughter of Death Eaters. That night, he was supposed to meet up with his fellow Death Eaters and cause general havoc if not for that damnable brat. He and his family had to endure the embarrassment and humiliation before apparating to their manor to recover from the injuries sustained. Despite his absence, his associates had carried out the attack as planned and things had been going smoothly until they were attacked. A mysterious attacker had ambushed them and all but slaughtered several of their members. Some were turned into bloody paste while others exploded in shower of blood and gore and it was rather a shock to many of them.

Never before they were attacked with such savagery. The ministry Aurors were forbidden to use dark spells and fought to apprehend them much like the Order of Phoenix did. He couldn't recall a single event where Death Eaters were killed in such brutal manner even back during the First War. Sure several of Death Eaters died during the First War and there were several Hit Wizards and Unforgivables who hurled dark spells at them but even those were quite limited. Whoever did this was extremely skilled in Dark Arts and it filled him with gnawing anxiety.

And then there was also the Dark Mark. Someone had fired the Dark Mark and his friends had panicked before fleeing the battle. They had swindled out of Azkaban by renouncing their old master and no doubt he would be displeased by his old followers. Did the Dark Mark mean that he was back?

Soon after the event, the rest of the Death Eaters had flooed into his manor and demanded to know why he hadn't been at the attack before informing him of what had occurred. There was no way that he would tell them that he and his family had been bested by a kid. Not to mention he would lose significant power and influence if the word got out to the society about how he had been humiliated.

Finally, there was that another mark which mocked the Dark Mark. Lucius scowled as he remembered the image, it looked disturbingly like him. He had been furious when he saw the picture on the front page of Daily Prophet and became a laughing stock to Longbottoms, Potters, Black and other "Light" families. In an ironic twist, the fact that the image looked like him saved him from the thorough investigation that his associates were suffering from. The former Death Eaters were now under a close scrutiny by the public and the Ministry of Magic due to the incident but his rivals smugly pointed out that thanks to the image of him skull fucking the Dark Mark, he wasn't much of a suspect.

It galled him to be taunted in such manner but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and wait it out or he would face an investigation like his comrades. However, the question remained, who had conjured up the "Mocking Mark" as people called now days. He had a feeling that whoever attacked the Death Eaters were involved with creating the Mocking Mark. Whoever did that was obviously skilled considering the manner how some of the corpses were butchered.

_'Perhaps it's the same kid who I encountered that night?'_ Lucius thought gloomily. _'There is a possibility, seeing as he had a degree of skill and power. But does it truly mean that he could've butchered my comrades?'_

He let out a sigh as he rubbed his forehead to ward off another headache. For now, he would wait and see if any results turned up from researching that mysterious brat who looked like a carbon copy of James Potter.

.oOo.

Draco Malfoy was currently in a very bad mood. The Quidditch World Cup was now over and the summer had come to close. He was now back in Hogwarts for his 4th year and ever since the Quidditch World Cup fiasco, things had been going downhill for his family. He had been utterly humiliated by that strange kid and his family was under a close watch from the Ministry and the public.

His blood still boiled as he recalled the insults thrown at him from the kid and the overwhelming defeat he and his family suffered from the stranger. Worse yet, his friends' families were now under investigation with threat of having their fortunes taken while the thrice damned Golden Trio were laughing at him.

They, along with other blasted Gryffindors, taunted and mocked him as well as his friends. And this happened to be one of those times.

Benjamin Potter, Neville Longbottom, Ronald Weasley were standing in front of the hallway, blocking his path. He could see that mudblood side kick Granger slightly behind them as well as other Gryffindors and they all wore smug grin directed at him and the Slytherins.

"Well well well, look what we have here? Filthy Death Eater spawns. I'm surprised that you showed your face here. After what happened to your daddies, I thought you would crawl into little holes to hide." Neville said with a smug smirk as rest of Gryffindors broke down in guffaws.

Draco snarled as his temper flared. "Just you wait Longbottom! When my father hears about this-"

"He will do absolutely nothing." Ben ginned smugly. "He and the rest of those filthy scums are under close scrutiny by the Ministry and can't do anything."

Malfoy and those with Death Eater parents glared balefully at their school rivals. As much as they hated to admit it, it was true. With the threats of having their fortunes taken away, the parents have explicitly instructed their children to never set a toe out of the line. They couldn't afford to lose their properties no matter what. Even if it meant having to endure such insults from blasted Golden Trio and the Gryffindors, they had to restrain themselves from outright attacking them.

"What's the matter? Kneazle got your tongue?" Neville chuckled along with other Gryffindors at the silent but seething Slytherins.

"Oh and by the way how are you guys doing? Goyle, Crabbe? I heard your dads got killed along with Macnair and Evan Rosier." Benjamin grinned at their furious expressions.

Crabbe and Goyle gritted their teeth and stepped forward, cracking their knuckles while more level-headed Slytherins held them back, albeit barely.

"Slimy snakes. They all deserve it. The world will be a better place without dark scums like all Slytherins." Ron Weasley sneered at them.

The rest of Slytherins narrowed their eyes at the obvious insult from the idiotic ginger. While there were certainly less than desirable individuals in their House, it didn't mean that all of them were evil.

Malfoy, obviously easily angered, drew his wand but the Golden Trio had their wands out and pointed at him along with other Gryffindors but his friends and rest of Slytherin House had their wands out too. The rivaling houses glared murderously at each other even as crowd around them grew with older students stepping into the escalating tension to their respective houses while Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws watched the situation with fear and interest.

"What is going on here?" A silky voice cut through the tense like a knife.

Severus Snape swept toward the corridor with flapping robes, reminding them of a bat. His cold black eyes glared malevolently at the gathered students who were facing each other in massive group Mexican Standoff. His eyes flickered to the Golden Trio and his lips curled in disdainful sneer.

"Well?" His voice were still quiet but it screamed danger to all those assembled and many of them cringed from underlying threat.

Malfoy, ever the suck-up, quickly replied. "Potter, Longbottom, and Weasley insulted our parents. Rest of Gryffindors joined in."

It was actually true. Even though he usually told outright lies or half-truth whenever he was in these kind of situations, the Gryffindors _did_ provoke them first this time.

"I see." Snape answered while ignoring the outraged look of the Gryffindors. "Potter, Longbottom, and Weasley. That will be 10 points from each of you. Fighting in the corriders are strictly against the rules."

Ron, being a short tempered idiot without a brain, obviously tried to snarl back at the greasy haired professor but the bushy haired bookworm thankfully silenced him with her hand. Benjamin Potter gritted his teeth and glared at Snape a.k.a. Snivellus when he obviously didn't punish his own house.

Scowling at the professor and the Slytherins, Gryffindors put their wands away and departed while Slytherins glared daggers at the retreating Gryffindors.

"The dinner is over. I suggest all of you get to your Common Room." Snape warned them before walking away with billowing robes.

Slytherins silently made their way to their dorm. After grunting out the password, they came upon the dungeon-like room with greenish lamps and chairs. Low backed black and dark green leather sofas laid here and there with buttons, skulls, and dark wood cupboards. Going further in, the eerie atmosphere changed as the disgruntled group came upon the wide circular room with high dome-like ceiling. Dark green carpet decorated the floor and a large fireplace cast a warm glow to the entire room while chandlers and green lanterns bathed the room with their soft lights.

It was a magnificent room, with rather a cozy atmosphere for a dungeon, unlike the more gloomy room they passed that was situated closer toward the entrance.

Flopping down the large comfortable couch, Malfoy began to rant and rave at the Golden Trio and Gryffindors in general with his Death Eater friends nodding and grunting in agreement. The rest of Slytherin house merely sighed and shook their heads at the all-too-familiar routine as Malfoy's rant grew louder and longer. Unfortunately, they couldn't do nothing but to suffer through it or give up and go to their rooms.

In a house where blood purity and family influence ruled, Malfoy ruled the Slytherin house due to his family's prominence and influence. Few muggleborns and half-bloods in the house of snakes all but avoided him and his friends by laying low and even couple purebloods grimaced at his antics.

Despite his reputation as the self-proclaimed "Prince of Slytheirns," Malfoy had less than stellar reputation within his own house thanks to his loud mouth and overblown arrogance. It certainly didn't help with the fact that most blood purists were the ones in power.

Daphne Greengrass watched coolly from the corner of the room as Malfoy and his ilk whine yet again. She merely sighed and shook her head in despair as Tracey Davis, her only friend, rolled her eyes when Pansy Parkinson all but cooed at him.

Sinking further into the comfortable couch she was sitting on, Daphne groaned quietly. "Why is that idiot even in Slytherin? For all his acts and behaviors, he's acting more like a stupid Gryffindor."

Tracey looked at her with sympathetic expression as she sadly nodded in agreement. Tracy Davis was the only friend Daphne had in Slytherin house. Whereas Daphne was a pureblood, Tracey Davis was one of the few half-bloods in the house of snakes. She had a waist length red hair and sky blue eyes compared to Daphne's own wintery blue eyes. She was of average height like her and had slender figure with an older brother in Ravenclaw, Roger Davis.

"I know. He has proven himself to be more of a rash Gryffindor than a cunning Slytherin." She giggled quietly to not attract any unwanted attention.

"I wonder what the Sorting Hat saw in him." Daphne mused. "Probably his ambition."

Tracey agreed with her on that. For all his faults, Draco Malfoy was extremely ambitious person despite his lack of cunning and resourcefulness. Only thing that could match his ambition would probably be his inflated ego.

"Hey sis! How you doing?" Asked a bubbly voice.

Turning her gaze from the blond idiot, Daphne's lips quirked up slightly at the sight of her younger sister. Astoria Greengrass was a year younger than her and had almost opposite personality compared to the elder one. Daphne was cold and reserved who carefully observed her surroundings before acting out. Astoria, on the other hand, was always cheerful with bubbly personality. Despite being in Slytherin, she had a personality of a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor.

She was half a head shorter than her with wavy brown hair that reached her back and same wintery blue eyes, except her eyes held more warmth and compassion compared to Daphne's icy gaze. If it wasn't for their similar looks, people would've thought that they were complete strangers.

Like her elder sister, she was object of many fancy by the boys in her year due to her very good looks and was quite popular thanks to her upbeat attitude. Unfortunately, it was hard to approach her due to her terrifying older sister who protected her like a hawk against the hormonal males. Daphne had already built a reputation of sending any boys who approached her to the Hospital Wing and it extended to her younger sister as well. Just last year alone, she sent nearly 25 boys from different houses and years to the Hospital Wing for approaching the younger girl.

"Hey Tori!" Tracey smiled at the younger girl.

Tracey got along with Astoria very well due to their similar personalities. Although Tracey wasn't as upbeat like the younger Slytherin, she was general a cheerful person.

"I probably should go to sleep soon. Just listening to that idiot is already giving me a headache." Daphne said tiredly as she jerked her head toward still ranting Malfoy.

Astoria giggled at her comment. Draco Malfoy was one of few things that could truly annoy the normally cool and collected ice queen. Her older sister had been complaining to her since the first year how Draco was interested in her and would never shut up when he was whining.

"Look on the bright side, at least he's not lusting after you as of the moment." She grinned.

Rolling her eyes at her younger sister's cheerful attitude, Daphne bade Astoria and Tracey goodnight before moving toward the Girl's Dorm.

_'Merlin is there anyone out there who can silence him permanently?'_ She prayed as she slipped into her bed.

Unknown to her, her prayers would be answered very soon.

.oOo.

The next day came quickly and thankfully passed without any incidents. Daphne could feel her lips tugging downward in a frown at the cacophony of noise that assailed her during the dinner. As always, the feast was grand as ever but the noise permeating the room never failed to annoy her.

Slytherin table was always subdued due to the manners and etiquettes beaten into them by their parents and their head of the house which was one thing she was definitely glad about being in Slytherin. Her icy gaze flickered down the table as she observed her fellow housemates. Draco Malfoy was boasting as usual but other than him, the noise level was generally calm.

The Ravenclaws were quite alike with Slytherins in the terms of the noise. She could see many of them had their textbooks out in front of them as they discussed the theories and latest interesting news. Some of them were red in face as they grew steadily angry at whatever topic they were discussing.

Turning her gaze to the Hufflepuffs, her frown grew at the loud noises of laughter, cheers and general hub of sounds that she didn't like. While she had nothing against Hufflepuffs, unlike most Slytherins, their excitable atmosphere and incessant chattering was sometimes too much to bear. They were very lively and the most social of the 4 houses and she enjoyed spending time with those who weren't afraid of her. From her position, she could see the red head Susan Bones talking animatedly with her blonde friend Hannah Abbott. Most Hufflepuffs seemed to fear Slytherins but Daphne had somehow managed to form a friendly relationship with the pretty red head, of course the fact that her aunt was the Director of DMLE didn't hurt either.

Susan Bones was one of the few friends she had and treated her with kindness that she extended to everyone around her. Like Daphne, she was quite talented in dueling and excelled in most subjects, becoming one of the top students in their year. Unlike Daphne, who had slender figure, Susan had rather petite but busty figure and rumored to have the biggest rack in their year.

Judging by the several glances boys around her sent at her chest, the rumor seemed quite solid. Snorting at the hormonal males, she turned her gaze to the last table, the Gryffindors. Now her frown turned into a grimace at the blaring noise coming from the red and gold table. Just like Hufflepuffs, they very loud and boisterous.

Her eyes trailed up and down the length of table, measuring the talents of each students. Like rest of Slytherin house, Daphne didn't have any particular like for the lions. She didn't care much about the century year old rivalry born from the founders but the fact that they outright antagonized anyone who didn't fit their criteria just grated on her nerves.

Gryffindors were known for being brash and charging into a situation without thinking and often sprouted out things regardless of the consequences. Just as Slytherins were prejudiced against muggleborns and half-bloods, they were prejudiced against anyone who wasn't "light."

Continuing her observation, her grimace turned into scowl when her eyes landed on the Golden Trio. Ronald Weasley had thankfully turned his back on her so that she wouldn't be able to witness his atrocious eating behavior. The idiot ginger was the perfect poster boy for the Gryffindors along with Benjamin Potter and Neville Longbottom. He was extremely biased against the Slytherins and had little or no talent. His lack of skill was only matched by his lack of table manner and intelligence.

Sitting across from him were the Boys-Who-Lived, Benjamin Potter and Neville Longbottom. Both were slightly plump and had baby fat on their faces. Potter had dark red hair that looked like brown and hazel eyes along with thickly framed glasses while Longbottom had mousy brown hair and eyes. Both of them were currently stuffing themselves with food and Daphne quickly looked away lest she lost he appetite.

The two were surrounded by their admirers and followers as they proudly boasted whatever fake accomplishment they achieved. They were truly one of the most irritating people that she had misfortune to meet. They were arrogant as Malfoy and just as impetuous since they believed that the world revolved around them. She grudgingly admitted that they had more magical knowledge than most adults but then, they were taught by Dumbledore since their childhood. Also, she could see that behind their knowledge, they didn't have any particular skill and were only slightly above average.

"May I have your attention please?" Dumbledore's voice rang out through the Great Hall, silencing all noise.

"As I have informed you on the first day, delegations from Beauxbaton, Durmstrang, and Salem will be arriving tomorrow. They shall be arriving on evening and please be on your best behavior and this is an excellent opportunity to form a friendship and promote international cooperation." He informed them with twinkle in his eyes. It filled him with joy as he watched their young faces and hoped for them to create lasting friendship with the foreigners. Britain had remained isolated from other magical communities and he hoped the new generations to bring England out of its shell.

"The guests will seated amongst your tables and I look forward to seeing you introduce our school to them." He chuckled as he saw the students whisper each other with excitement.

"Also, as I have informed you on the Welcoming Feast, the Salem Institute of Magic will be joining us for the tournament for the first time. So I suppose the correct term would be Tetra-Wizard Tournament." He chuckled.

The last time the tournament happened, Salem was no more than a temporary shelter for magical children but it had grown to become a formidable school in its own right. When Salem had requested to take part in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Karkaroff had voiced his disapproval by saying that only three magical schools were allowed to compete and that it was against the tradition. However, Madam Maxime and Albus himself had been able to overrule Karkaroff's opposition and recognize Salem as an official competitor in the tournament.

"That will be all." He concluded as the students went back to eating with slight anticipation in the air.

_'A chance to form foreign connections.'_ Thought Slytherin Ice Queen.

As a Slytherin, it would no doubt be very useful. Having certain individuals outside the Britain would certainly work on her favor. Their head of the house would probably inform them of the importance of having foreign connections after the dinner and encourage them to make a lasting impression.

Looking around, she could see that many of them were boasting about how they were going to enter the tournament.

_'Tri-Wizard Tournament or Tetra-Wizard Tournament now... It just might work in my favor...'_

.oOo.

The next day, Hogwarts students filed down the steps and lined up in the front of the castle to greet the foreign delegations. Many of them shivered from the cold as they awaited the arrival of Beauxbaton, Durmstrang and Salem. There was a general hum of noise as they discussed how they would arrive to Hogwarts.

Benjamin stood tall and proud as he awaited for their eventual arrival. He had been excited since the time when his dad informed him of the upcoming Tri-Wizard tournament through his contacts in the Ministry. His mom worked as the Muggle Studies professor in Hogwarts and his dad was an Auror along with uncle Sirius. They had arrived at Hogwarts just 3 days ago to ensure the safety of students and he had been giddy at seeing them at school. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the crimson robes of Aurors stationed here and there around the school and knew without a doubt that his dad and Sirius was standing behind the students with the staffs.

Lily Potter nee Evans smiled softly to herself as she watched her son shift excitedly while having an animated discussion with Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley. Her baby boy was growing up. He looked lot like James with his hazel eyes and thickly framed glasses but possessed her dark red hair, although it looked brown from a distance. She wondered how he would be like when he became an adult.

A flash of memory passed through her mind, a picture of a green-eyed baby with messy, raven black hair. She swallowed past a sudden lump in her throat as she remembered her _other_ child. Her firstborn. Benjamin's older brother.

Ever since when she first learned of his "death" she couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that pressed onto her shoulders. She and James had been devastated when she learned the news. Dumbledore had frantically called them of how Aries was attacked and he gathered the Hogwarts staff along with several members of Order of Phoenix and apparated to Number 4 Privet Drive. Upon their arrival, they only saw the burning wreckage. Lily had all but broken down when she learned that her child had perished in the fire along with her sister and her family.

Flashback

_8 years ago_

_As the Sun began to set, it painted the sky in glorious hue of orange and faint pink mixed with the light blue hue of the heaven. It looked as if fire danced across the sky in a mystic dance as it did for millennia. Beneath the brilliantly lit sky, a certain magical castle in Britain stood tall and proudly with its spires reaching up to the heaven as it caste shadow to the ground below. The Black Lake sparkled with the Sun's fading light and looked as if it were made of sparkling onyx while the Forbidden Forest was strangely looked tranquil instead of possessing its usual ominous aura._

_Such was the view that greeted Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as he looked out from his office window as he pondered away in his thoughts. However, his musing was disturbed when the voice spoke out._

_"Looking out the window again? Honestly, I don't know what you humans find so fascinating about staring at the same place for a long time. You really need to do something productive for once other than sucking on you lemon drop and cashing in on your past glories." The Sorting Hat grumbled._

_"At least when Godric was alive, he used to throw me on his head and brag about how much he could drink before passing out or how many different girls he banged on one night. And by Merlin's left ball sack even Phineas Black did something amusing from time to time when he was headmaster. All you do is suck on that stupid candy and snore while you sleep." The Hat continued to voice his displeasure._

_Chuckling at the foul-mouthed Hat's antic, Dumbledore turned away from his view as he gazed at the Hat with his usual twinkle in his eyes. "Looking at the beauty of nature never ceases to amaze me. It's tranquility reminds me just how important it is for us to fight against the darkness for the future generations, for they will be ones to carry on our world." Dumbledore replied with a chuckle._

_"You say that because you never got laid. By the time you realized your error, you were an old geezer and no girl would suck on your wrinkled penis and pair of raisins you call testicles." The Hat retorted back._

_"Even the gloomy Salazar was much more interesting than you, despite his perverted tendencies. At least he let me watch occasionally whenever he banged Rowena from time to time. That girl was a screamer for sure, they did say the studious and quiet ones are the freaky ones!" Hat cackled with laughter on the last part._

_Before Albus could even deign to respond, there was a knock at the door. "Ahhh, do come in Severus, Minerva, Filius, and Pomona. The door, as always, is open."_

_The corner of his lips twitched upward ever so slightly at the annoyed look on Minerva's face. People always wondered just how he knew who was outside the door into this office. _

_"Lemon drops anyone?" Dumbledore asked with twinkle in his eyes as Snape scowled at him._

_After everyone seated around his office, Dumbledore asked "So how goes the classes? I trust everything is going smoothly?"_

_"Everything is going smoothly Albus." Minerva replied._

_"Filius? Pomona?" Dumbledore asked._

_At their respective nods, Dumbledore turned to his final member of staff. Snape merely scowled and replied "Gryffindor dunderheads melted four cauldrons this week alone and one of them nearly blew up the classroom! I swear with the way things are going, Filch will be picking up body parts from the dungeon floor and scrubbing after blood stains!"_

_Offended that her "cubs" were being criticized, Minerva immediately leaped into their defense. "Maybe if you weren't breathing down on their necks they wouldn't have happened!" The Scottish woman sharply replied._

_From then on they fell into usual squabble with glare and thinned lips from the Gryffindor's head of the house and sneer from the Slytherin's head of the house. It was a familiar antic between two of them that have been going on for quite a while._

_With a sigh and rueful chuckle, Dumbledore was about to reply when a piercing sound cut off whatever he was about to say as well as the argument between the two. Five pair of eyes immediately swiveled to the source of sound and Dumbledore felt blood drain from his face as the silver gizmos on his shelf either exploded or melted into puddle of silver as their functions ceased with their screams._

_"Albus what's going on?" Pomona asked with worried expression as she watched Dumbledore quickly make his way toward the shelf._

_"They monitor Aries Potter's health and blood ward I created. Something terrible has happened to him." Dumbledore replied with dread._

_"Filius, I want you to send Patronus messages to Potters and Sirius and tell them to meet me at Number Four Privet Drive, __Little Whinging, Surrey__!" Dumbledore immediately began to give out orders. When he turned to them, his eyes were sharp and missed his usual twinkle and brows were drawn and they could see the energy and focus that made him such a great leader for so many years._

_With that he motioned them to grabbed onto him and called Fawkes. As they were transported with blaze of phoenix fire, Dumbledore's last thought was 'I pray we are not too late.'_

_Massive smoke filled the air as blazing inferno roared with malevolence as it licked at the wooden timbers of Number Four Privet Drive. The Sun had set and stars were beginning to twinkle as night beckoned. Yet, to denizens of Privet Drive it was still bright as if the Sun had never set. The massive inferno alighted the area with its furious yellow and red flames as it consumed the house and let out thick column of smoke toward the night sky. Terrified neighbors watched with morbid fascination as dozens of firefighters fought he flames to no avail. Despite gallons of water they pumped out, the fire refused to die down and continued to roar in defiance.__ The overpowering smell of sulphur reeked through the air, irritating the eyes and noses of the neighbors' and the few unmasked firemen._

_This was the scene that greeted Albus Dumbledore and others as they briskly strode from Mrs. Figgs house after travelling through phoenix fire, his blue eyes alert and serious as he quickly observed the situation. His purple coloured robe with twinking stars flapped in the wind as he crinkled his nose up, the wind bringing the smell of sulphur to his attention. From behind him, he could hear the gasps of surprise followed by coughs as the Hogwarts staff chocked on stench of sulphur._

_For a moment, Dumbledore just stood, tall and unmoving as his mind whirled with possible scenarios, before his eyes flickered over the struggling fire-fighters and the blazing inferno and he seemingly made a decision. He quickly moved forward, his robes twirling as he brushed past a family of four watching the flames silently, who strangely took no notice of the odd man and his odder clothing._

_As Albus Dumbledore strode forward the house with others, he began to grimace as the smell of sulpher grew stronger and his eyebrows furrowed as he realized dark magic seemed to be emitting from the blazing fire. Taking out his Elder Wand from his robes, he listened on the conversation between group of weary firefighters._

_"This fire should have gone down by now," One of them said tiredly, while his partner chugged down a bottle of water. "But it just keeps growing and growing. It's not __natural__, man!"_

_The other man lowered his bottle and swallowed, and his eyes darted around as he leaned in closer to his friend. "Can't you smell it? That's sulphur in the air, mate."_

_His partner looked at him, incomprehension showing on his face__ while others snapped their heads toward him with incredulous expression__, and the fireman sighed impatiently._

_"Sulphur, also known as brimstone," He said in annoyance. "Fire and brimstone, eternal punishment, torment and anguish, hell, does this ring any bells?"_

_"Don't be stupid," The other fireman snorted, but doubt flickered over his face as he gazed at the blazing house and sniffed the air. "You're saying that, what? Satan did this?"_

_"I don't know mate," The other fireman said tiredly. "All I know is that the people in that house are dead, and I bet you twenty-pounds that they died painfully."_

_Before he and his fellow professors could extinguish the flame, a voice spoke to him in terror "Albus! What is this? Is Aries supposed to be in there?" Lily's voice rose with hysteria near the end. _

_Potters and Sirius Black stood a little behind them with ashen faces. No one noticed them besides Albus and fellow professors as muggles moved about as if they weren't there. James Potter had his arm around Lily as he supported her from collapsing in despair and his eyes were wide as he looked on to the burning wreckage. Sirius Black was on the other side of Lily, his usual mischief absent from his eyes as he grimaced._

_"We need to put out the fire, muggles can't extinguish it themselves." Dumbledore replied._

_With flicks of their wands, wizards and witches began to mutter the spells necessary to extinguish the fire. Shimmering soft blue mist began to come out from the ends of their wands and enveloped the roaring fire. In response, the fire flared up as dark light flickered and as it clashed against the incoming spells. As the stench of sulphur increased, Dumbledore and others gripped their wands tighter as the dark spell resisted and poured in their magic. Under their combined assault, the dark light flickered again and went out of existence after several tense moment of resistance, the fire quickly lost its potency and allowed firefighters to push forward._

_As soon as the spells ended, witches and wizards took a gasping breath as they tried to regain their breath from the ordeal. The fact that the flame resisted their combined assault showed just how potent the fire was. This fire was just as powerful, if not more powerful than the infamous fiendfire, and Albus never knew any dark magic that was even stronger than the said feared flames. As he stared at the dying embers of fire, he looked at the remains of Number Four of Privet Drive, in truth, there wasn't much left. The house had been completely destroyed by the fire as there were few left over wooden support beams here and there were nothing else._

_As he listened to Lily's sobs, Albus contemplated the issue. This was no accident. It was a murder. The dark magic within the fire proved that. The question remained: Who was responsible for this? The Death Eaters? And most importantly, was Aries Potter inside?_

End Flashback

Lily Potter bit her lips to stop a sob from escaping her, it wouldn't be good if she broke down in front of hundreds of students with foreign delegations only few minutes away. Her shoulder shook as she remembered the bright, emerald eyes of Aries. Her eyes. After leaving Aries at her sister's doorstep, she never had any contact with her firstborn and didn't even know how he looked like. The fact that she only spent about a year and a half with her firstborn never ceased to bring shame upon her.

James had been equally devastated. It was only through Aries' death that they realized how much of a failure they both had been as parents. It took them nearly an entire year to pick themselves up and interact with others without breaking down. From then on, they swore never to lose another child and pampered Benjamin as much as they could with their love.

As if sensing his wife's distressing thoughts, James Potter wrapped his arm around Lily. She looked up at the warm hazel eyes of her husband and felt her shaking shoulders relax.

"What's wrong Lily flower?" James asked worriedly. Inwardly, he felt his stomach sink as he looked into her watery emerald eyes.

"It's-It's just that I wondered how Aries would be if he was here." She answered quietly.

His broad shoulders sagged and his eyes lost its bright gleam at the thought of his firstborn. Aries was a topic that they rarely talked about. It was far too painful for them to remember and they both rarely spoke of him to each other, preferring to work it out individually, so that the other won't be burdened.

Without answering, James drew her closer to him and he could felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Sirius, who had heard their conversation, squeeze his shoulder in a silent support.

Taking a deep, steady breath of cold air, James calmed himself and smiled sadly at Lily.

"It's ok. I'm sure he's in a better place now. I'm sure we'll see him again." James answered her just as quietly.

Lily nodded as she too, pulled her thoughts out from depressing matter.

"Look! It's a dragon!" An excited 3rd year shouted out as he pointed at the vague shape moving toward them.

"No you idiot! It's a flying house!" Shouted Collin Creevy.

It turns out that Creevy's prediction was more accurate as the shape became a large carriage led by a dozen of winged horses, each a size of an elephant. As the carriage came closer, first few rows took unconscious step backward before it landed with a loud crash as its vast wheels bounced along the ground. Few moments later, the door of the carriage opened to reveal a boy in pale blue robes who bent forward and fumbled with something on the carriage floor. A set of golden steps unfolded and the boy sprang back respectfully.

To the surprise of the gathered students a large woman, size of Hagrid, stepped out. the woman had olive-skinned tone and a handsome face with large, black, liquid-looking eyes and a rather beaky nose. She was dressed in a fine black satin and many magnificent opals decorated her throat and fingers.

Dumbledore started to clap and students momentarily stunned by the woman began to follow his lead. The woman swept her gaze through the students before settling on Dumbledore. With a gracious smile, she walked toward Dumbledore, extending her hand. Dumbledore, though tall himself, barely had to bend to kiss it.

"Dear Madam Maxime." Dumbledore smiled politely. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumble-dort," said Madam Maxime in a deep voice. "I 'ope you are well?"

"In an excellent form." Said Dumbledore.

"Other schools have not yet arrive yet. Would you like to wait here and greet them or would you prefer to step inside for warmth?" He asked politely.

Behind the large woman, a dozen boys and girls, who looked to be in their late teens, had emerged from the carriage and stood shivering. They were all dressed in finely made silk uniform with sky blue color and none of them wore cloaks while gazing on the stone castle with look of apprehension and hint of curiosity.

"I think we should warm up first." Answered Maxime.

The crowd parted as the Beauxbaton students, led by their large headmistress, walked into Hogwarts. The area grew silent again as they waited for next arrival, occasionally broken by snorts and stamping from the large horses that stood next to the carriage.

"The lake! Look at the lake!" Shouted Lee Jordan.

The smooth black surface of the water rippled as giant bubbles formed on the surface. Waves crashed against the muddy banks and a whirlpool appeared before a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the whirlpool before forming into a mast.

Slowly, a ship rose out of the water as it gleamed in the moonlight. It looked as if it was resurrected from the bottom of an ocean and glided toward the bank. A moment later, an anchor was thrown down and with a thud, a plank was lowered onto the bank. The people disembarking had cloaks with thick furs and beneath their cloaks, a hint of crimson uniform appeared.

The Durmstang.

They were led by a tall and thin man with short white hair and a goatee. "Dumbledore!" The man called out.

"Karkaroff." Dumbledore replied as he stepped forward to shake the man's hand.

"Dear old Hogwarts. It's good to be here." He smiled as he looked at the majestic stone castle.

"The Beauxbaton have already arrived and is inside. We are currently waiting for Salem Institute. Would you wait or go inside?" Dumbledore asked him.

"I think my students could use a little rest." Karkaroff replied as he looked back at his students. "We shall wait inside."

"Come Victor and rest of you." He commanded.

Karkaroff beckoned one of his students and some of the students let out a gasp of surprise as they caught his feautres. The boy had a prominent curved nose and thick black eyebrows and many immediately recognized him.

Victor Krum. The professional Qudditich player and one of the best Seekers in the world.

As the Durmstrang students went inside, Hogwarts students immediately began to whisper amongst themselves as they kept shooting looks at the departing back of the celebrity.

"That's Krum."

"I didn't know he was a student."

"Do you think I can get his autograph?"

Many of the boys had awestruck faces while girls began to giggle amongst themselves as they rummaged for quills or any other utensils for autographs. Some professors looked disappointed at the immaturity their students were showing while Severus Snape glared at his Slytherins as if daring them to act like other students did. Dumbledore simply chuckled and shook his head.

"Ahh to be young and youthful. I almost forgot." He mused quietly.

After another few minutes of waiting, Albus noticed a soft sparkle of light in front of the lake. Like a Faerie glitter, the golden light flickered and danced as it floated towards the ground. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and felt smile crept along his aged lips as the students began to notice what was happening and watched the light show with curiosity and awe. More sparkles of light appeared and Albus watched carefully as he felt first presence of powerful magic, which was quite impressive although little crude. More sparkles began to materialize as they began to condense and let out bright silver and luminescent golden light. From the softly glowing light, figures began to emerge from it.

The figures walked out in two lines amidst the sparkles and light. They were dressed in dark-red robes and their faces were bright with excitement and awe as they stared at Hogwarts. At the front of the assembly, an ancient looking man with a severe face who sprouted a large droopy moustache and soft brown eyes. Standing next to him was a tall, slender girl with golden blonde hair and pretty face who supervised the students. She seemed to be a little older than students and in early twenties and carried herself differently from others, her eyes were bright and filled with power. Judging by the looks of admiration from the girls and longing from the boys, she was definitely someone the students admired.

Albus carefully extended his senses toward the girl and felt a tingle of shock but carefully kept it hidden and withdrew his senses. She was not a wand-wizard at all, she was a true-wizard! What in the Merlin's name a true-wizard doing amongst a magical school for wand-wizard?

The girl snapped her eyes at him and watched him carefully, she probably felt his careful scan. Just as he had done, he felt a probe launch at him although hers was all force with little subtlety. The probe clashed against his aura but Albus was easily able to shake it off and gave the girl a slight smile, who looked shocked as she stared at him with wide eyes.

"Headmaster Dumbledore." The ancient looking wizard called out, his voice filled with joy but quavering with age, as he limped forward. He extended out a wrinkled old hand as a smile lit his face.

Albus felt a beaming smile light up his face as he jovially strode forward and clasped the ancient wizard's had with his own.

"Headmaster Smith." Albus said with a chuckle. "Good to see you once more. Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Ahhh Hogwarts. As awe-inspiring as ever." Headmaster Smith wheezed. "Although the weather is quite cold."

"Indeed, come inside. The other schools have arrived and is awaiting for your arrival." Albus smiled warmly. "Warmth will do you good."

Headmaster Smith nodded gratefully and extended his hand to the tall, slender girl who had been watching the exchange. "May I introduce Molly Carpenter. She's our new teacher of Alternative Magic and the Old World. It's been an enormous success and she had been a great help to me. What with my old age and all..."

"Indeed?" Murmured Albus as he curiously gazed at the true-wizard who stared back at him with just as much interest and a hint of defiance? . "Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Carpenter."

"Thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore." Said Molly Carpenter. Her voice was soft, yet strong. She had look of slight puzzlement on her face but he supposed that she had encountered very few wand-wizard who could counter her naturally more powerful true-magic.

"I suppose you want to continue your lessons here?" He asked with a smile as his eyes crinkled.

"If you have the room." She answered.

"I'm sure we can work up something." Albus offered. "But come inside. I believe students are getting cold."

With a chuckle, Albus fell in steps with Headmaster Smith with Molly Carpenter just few steps behind them, leading wide eyes students into the looming stone castle with Hogwarts students following them in.

.oOo.

Fleur Delacour sighed and groaned inwardly as she scowled at the drooling idiots around her. It has been only a half an hour since she had arrived at Hogwarts and she could already feel her patience being tested to its limits. The moment she took off her mufflers after entering warmth of the castle, the male population's attention within the Hogwarts seemed to have riveted toward her.

Glazed stares. Drooling mouth. Slacked faces.

It always infuriated her to be around such weak minded imbeciles and she could feel her desire to burn these uncouth morons into ashes. Taking a deep, steady breath to calm herself, she felt the Lustfire and her avian form become dormant once more with the help of Occulemency. It didn't help that no matter how hard she tried, her Allure cannot be completely be turned off. The more emotional she became, the lesser control she had over her Veela Allure and stronger it became, influencing those around her even more. It was a vicious cycle that she unfortunately had little control over.

Of course, combined with the stares from weak-willed, hormonal males, she had to deal with the death glares from the female population. Refusing to let them bother her, she glared right back at them with a scowl and one by one, the girls slowly returned to what they were doing. Letting out a deep sigh, she turned to her plate with feeling miserable inside. Couldn't they see that she couldn't help but being who she was? She was a Veela and she had no control over the way boys acted and so many of them couldn't see beyond that.

Growing up, Fleur had little or no friends. The moment she reached Veela puberty, few friends she had broke off after boys began to chase her and not paid any attention to other girls. It certainly didn't help that she was so much more beautiful than others and possessed ethereal beauty that Veelas were famous for. Their dislike turned into jealousy and the jealousy soon turned into hatred.

To protect herself against the cold fury from the females and hormonal lust from the males, she formed a cold exterior around herself, hiding her true self behind her icy demeanor. No longer was she the weak little girl who cried in her dorms from the hatred of the girls and lust of the boys. No longer was she a frail child with naive heart.

She became much colder to those around her. If they were going to treat her with disrespect and hatred, she would return the favor. Instead of spending her time feeling miserable within her dorms like she did during the first two years of Beauxbaton, she spent majority of her time in the library learning new spells and growing stronger. She embraced her Veela heritage she once rejected, becoming a powerful Veela in her own right.

Her talent, skill and sheer determination quickly sky rocketed her to the one of the best students in her school and she had been chosen to be one of the few who would represent Beauxbaton in Tri-Wizard Tournament, or was it Tetra-Wizard Tournament now?

It brought her to the shores of England and it was like her first few years in Beauxbaton all over again. Fleur glared at the Ravenclaw boys who were looking at her with dazed expression. Quite few of them were all but drooling at her sight with their food forgotten. Grimacing with disgust she turned her attention back to her own plate with a small huff. At least in France, the boys had a semblance of self control but these English pigs and seemed have little or no manners at all.

Soon, the golden plates were wiped clean and the aged headmaster of Hogwarts stood up. Sighing with small relief as the males' attention were diverted from her, Fleur watched as the students looked at the aged man with rapt attention.

"The moment is finally here." Dumbledore smiled at the sea of excited faces. "The tournament is about to start and I would like few words before bringing the casket. First let me introduce Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

After smattering of polite applause, Dumbledore continued. "They, along with myself and other heads of the school, will be acting as the judges for the champions' efforts."

"Now if you will Mr. Filch." Albus nodded at the caretaker.

At his command, the gruff caretaker brought the jeweled chest and carefully set it on the table before the school and quickly retreated.

"The champions will face several tasks spaced throughout the school year and they will be chosen based on their magical prowess, daring, power of deduction, and of course, the ability of cope with danger."

The students were now completely silent. Their rapt faces looking intently at the aged headmaster, hanging onto his every words.

"There will be 4 Champions in total, one from the each school and they will be marked depending on how well they perform each of the tasks and the one with the highest score will win the Tournament Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: The Goblet of Fire."

With his wand, Albus flicked it at the casket and it seemed to melt away and revealed a large, wooden cup with dancing blue-white flames. The sea of faces looked at the blazing goblet with mixture of curiosity, awe and determination.

"Anyone wishing to be selected as a champion must write their name and the school on a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. You have until the Halloween and the goblet will chose the champions. The goblet will be in this hall tonight and be accessible to all those wishing to participate." Said Dumbledore.

"To ensure the safety of the participants, an Age Line will be drawn and no one under the age of 17 will participate." At that particular information, loud hub of voices broke out amongst the students. Many of them shouting complaints as the staffs, faculties, and aurors tired to calm them down. In the Gryffindor table, Benjamin Potter and Neville Longbottom loudly protested Dumbledore's announcement along with the Weasley twins while Draco Malfoy did the same in the Slytherin table much to the greasy haired professor's displeasure.

"SILENCE!" Yelled out Dumbledore, quickly quelling any sound.

"The tournament is dangerous and we believe that those under the age of 17 simply doesn't have enough skill and knowledge to survive the challenges without a permanent injury." Dumbledore explained.

"Those wishing to compete is not be entered lightly. Once selected, he or she will be obliged to finish the tournament until the end and will enter into a magical contract and can't withdraw. I advise all of you to think carefully before making your decision." Headmaster concluded.

With the speech concluded, the students went back to their beds.

.oOo.

Fleur Delacour sighed as yet another idiot walked into the wall as she passed by him. She shook her head to clear her annoyance she felt. She had been irritated since she got here and it had been steadily increasing with each passing day as more and more male students fell under her Veela Allure. One by one, they began to ask her out, confess their love for her, and worst of all, ask for her hand in marriage.

Once the word had gotten out, Fleur unfortunately had to suffer through a steady flow of hopeful boyfriends and other brainless fools who couldn't do nothing but to drool with a glazed look under her Allure.

Some of them, who had been rejected multiple times, even resorted to stalking for Merlin's sake! Was getting a Veela girlfriend that important?

_'Fools! Who do they think they are?'_ She mentally snarled in frustration as she stormed though a hallway. _'Like hell I'll be attracted to those weak minded imbeciles!'_

She had been so lost in her thoughts involving mindless males, lots of Lustfire, and numerous torture devices that she nearly ran into someone. Stopping herself from running over the person, Fleur stepped back and looked in front of her.

Standing before her were 3 boys. The one on the left had mousy brown hair and eyes and had rather pudgy look to him. The one on the center had dark red hair that looked almost brown, he had hazel eyes and wore thickly framed glasses and he too, seemed to have baby fats on his face although he wasn't as pudgy as the brown haired one. The last one, standing on the right and a step behind the first two, was a red headed boy with lots of freckles on his face and pale blue eyes.

Fleur's eyes immediately narrowed as she recognized the red-headed ginger after a moment. He was the one who asked for her hand in marriage right after he met her. His face had all but gone purple as he gaped and drooled at her and could barely make any sounds other than odd choking noises. She was, at the time, dealing with numerous boys at once much to her irritation and he almost fainted from her Allure as he tried to speak to her along with others. His stuttering, combined with glazed look on his face, made him look almost mentally deficient when he stuttered out "W-Wi-Will...Yo-You Ma-Marry M-Me?"

She had been so stunned that she momentarily completely forgot to snap back rudely at his utterly stupid question and ended up gaping at him incredulously. The other boys around them seemed to be stunned for a moment before they began to laugh at his uber stupidity. Not even they had been so bold and stupid. The laughing of other boys had snapped him out of his glazed look before his entire face went red along with his ears and he all but ran away from the stunned Veela and laughing boys in shame and embarrassment.

She could feel her already thinned patience twitch from this unneeded annoyance. The red headed idiot went slack-jawed and purple in the face for few moments before turning his eyes away from her as his face flushed from her glare, probably remembering his embarrassing fiasco. Fleur, much to her disgust, could detect food stains and crumbles from his robes and her nose crinkled as she smelled the odor of food coming from him.

"I believe your name is Fleur Delacour?" The mousy brown haired asked after a moment as he and the dark red haired one tired to control their selves from the flare of her Allure from the initial irritation at seeing them.

Taking a deep breath to tone down her Allure she glared coldly them as her sapphire eyes glittered like ice. "Zat would be correct. Who are you?"

The one in the middle let out a smug smile. "I'm Benjamin Potter and this is Neville Longbottom. We are the Boys-Who-Lived." He said proudly while puffing out his chest and lifting his chin in what was clearly an imitation of superior manner.

Fleur quirked her eyebrow and looked more closely at the duo. There, on the cheek of Benjamin Potter, was the crudely shaped scar of "S" and on the forehead of Neville Longbottom was the "V" shaped scar.

"Zo, you two are the Boyz-Who-Lived." She murmured. "What do you want wiz me?"

Neville smiled charmingly at her, or at least that's what he thought. "We saw you reject Malfoy earlier today and we must applaud you on your decision. He's nothing more than a slimy snake."

"Malfoy? You'll 'ave to be more zpecific." Said Fleur as her eyebrows furrowed at puzzlement.

"He's the guy with slicked back blonde hair and really pale." Benjamin explained further at her confusion.

Fleur frowned as she tried to remember the countless guys she rejected, than her expression cleared as she remembered the rather sickly, pale looking kid who slinked toward her earlier today in the hallway flanked by two, rather ugly and burly looking guys. He had a arrogant and pompous air around him much like the two boys in front of her and had all but approached her uninvited (as usual for males) and began to sprout out all the nonsense about his family's high standing in Britain before foolishly asking her to be his girlfriend.

She had flared her Allure at the boy to make him a drooling idiot so that she could escape but instead of turning him slack faced, he continued to boast even more. In her frustration and irritation, she sent a stunning spell at him and he ended up collapsing as the onlookers laughed at his unconscious form.

"E' was an arrogant idiot and weak minded imbecile. I 'ave no need for likes of 'im" Fleur snorted with dismissive gesture.

They chuckled at her description before grinning at her. "Well lucky for you, your search is at the end. We are the Boys-Who-Lived and I'm sure you will end up choosing one of us." Neville explained with pompous air.

She scowled at their stupidity and audacity. How dare they just assume that she'll choose one of them! She hated ignorant and arrogant fools like them and they weren't even physically attractive with their baby fats!

"I'm 17 and you two are obviously younger than I am. We are attracted to strong men, not little boys!" She growled at them.

Their smug and arrogant attitude vanished in an instant as they flushed at her insults and opened their mouth to retort. Not even giving them a chance to recover, Fleur flared her Allure and watched as they blanked out from her power and the red-headed ginger turned purple before fainting in undignified heap. In a blink of an eye, she whipped out her wand and sent stinging hexes at the Boys-Who-Lived, taking special care to aim at their groins.

The boys yelped in pain and quickly left while holding their private parts and dragging away the red head unceremoniously. Fleur glared at their retreating backs until they disappeared and was about to leave the area when a soft, feminine laughter interrupted her followed by the sound of clapping hands.

Spinning around to the source of noise, Fleur watched as a slender girl with raven, black hair step out from the corner she was hiding in. She had piercing, wintery-blue eyes and was rather beautiful despite being a normal girl. She wore traditional black robes of Hogwarts and silver and green ties.

_"Impressive. I'm glad I stuck around to see how you dealt with those idiots. That had been long time in coming for them. I can't believe you so easily put Malfoy, Potter and Longbottom to their place in a single day."_ The girl chuckled as her wintery blue eyes danced with mirth while addressing her in flawless French.

_"You are very fluent in French."_ Fleur observed as she switched back to her native tongue.

_"I occasionally visit France along with my family and had to learn quite few foreign languages."_ The raven haired girl answered. _"I'm Daphne Greengrass by the way."_

The quarter-Veela shook her offered hand. _"Fleur Delacour."_

_"You are a Veela aren't you?"_ Daphne asked _"I recognize the Veela Allure."_

_"Quarter Veela actually. It's rather annoying having to deal with those weak minded males." _Fleur said with an annoyed huff.

Daphne gave her an understanding nod. _"I know. I had to deal with a quite often myself before you came along."_

When the quarter Veela quirked her eyebrows, Daphne gave her a rueful smile. "_Just like you, I was often sought after by the males for my looks and suffer through the irritation. As result, I had to develop a way to protect myself and grew colder toward all of them."_

_"Although my case wasn't as bad as yours, we share similar experience."_ She smiled slightly.

Fleur blinked in surprise. Never in her life had she met another girl who shared the same experience as her. All of the girls she met were jealous of her beauty and shunned her and yet Daphne acted completely different from what she expected.

_"You are... not jealous that I took all their attention away?"_ She asked with surprise and caution.

Daphne merely shook her head and chuckled at the silvery-blonde's surprised expression. _"Nope, not at all. If anything, it's rather refreshing to not to be in male's center of attention. It's quite peaceful."_

Daphne gave a wry smile at the quarter Veela. _"Are you free right now?"_

At Fleur's nod, she asked again _"Would you like me to give you a tour of the castle?"_

Fleur hesitated for a brief instant before accepting her offer. As she followed the raven haired beauty, she could help but to ask _"Can you tell me more about your experience? I never met someone who shared the similar situation as me."_

Daphne gave her an understanding smile as she recounted her trouble with the annoying males and in turn, asked Fleur to elaborate her story.

As they walked away, deep within the heart of young Veela, a foreign emotion began to emerge. An emotion she buried long ago beneath her icy exterior. Perhaps she wasn't so alone in her experience. Perhaps there was someone who could relate to her experience.

Someone who wouldn't judge her like others.

A friend.

.oOo.

Albus Dumbledore smile as he looked at the sea of excited faces. The feast has just ended and now, the time had come for the champions to be selected. The Great Hall was decorated with webs, skulls and other artifacts to celebrate the night of Halloween and thousands of candles burned brightly above while the ceiling showed the twinkling stars outside.

"The time has come for the Goblet of Fire to choose the champions! When the name of the champion is called, he or she will walk up here along the staff table and through the door into the next chamber." He gestured at the door behind the staff table.

With a wave of his wand, all light source in the hall extinguished save for dim lighting by few candles and the luminescent glow of the sapphire flame of the Goblet. The fire flickered as for several moments as the students of the 4 schools stared unblinkingly at the Goblet with rapt attention.

The blue-white flames turned red and sparks began to fly from it. Suddenly, a tongue of flame shot into the air and a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it.

Albus caught the piece of parchment and read out the name.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read in a strong, clear voice "is Victor Krum!"

A storm of applause and cheers swept away the silence as the tall Quidditich player rose from the Slytherin table. The Durmstrang students banged their fists against the table in rhythmic pattern while Karkaroff yelled "Bravo, Victor!"

Victor slouched up toward where Dumbledore and staff table was before disappearing into the next chamber. The clapping and cheers died down and everyone's attention focused again on the goblet. Few seconds later, the fire turned red once more as it spat out another parchment.

"The champion for Beauxbatons... is Fleur Delacour!" Said Dumbledore.

A storm of applause erupted from the students. Fleur flushed slightly from the attention and glanced back at the Slytherin table. Daphne Greengrass, whom she had recently formed a friendly relationship with, gave her a slight smile and nod of respect. Taking a deep breath, Fleur rose amongst the Ravenclaw house and walked toward Dumbledore amidst the enthusiastic cheers and applause, especially from males.

Upon reaching the aged headmaster, Dumbledore gave her a kind smile and gestured at the door to the next chamber. Resolutely, she made her way toward the door.

This was it. This was the chance she had been waiting for to prove herself to others.

Stepping into the chamber, a flash of image leaped into the front of her mind before disappearing again. It was the image she now rarely thought of. The image of a young boy with piercing, emerald eyes and messy jet-black hair with a faded lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

_'I made a promise to grow stronger so that I wouldn't be weak.'_ She thought. _'So that I would never again have to depend on others to save myself.'_

With the Beauxbaton champion gone, the hall grew silent once more. The fire grew red once more and a jet of flame leaped out of the cup before a burnt parchment was caught by Dumbledore.

"The champion for Salem's Institute is... Richard Banks!"

The Great Hall erupted in applause once more as a dark-haired and brown eyed boy stood up while blushing from the furious cheers from the crimson-robed Salem students and their occasional cat-calls.

As the boy disappeared to the next chamber, the hall grew silent once more with students from Hogwarts eyed the cup with intent stare. Before long, the fire grew red again and charred parchment flew out of the goblet.

Catching the burnt paper, Dumbledore held it at an arm's length to read out the name.

"And the Hogwarts champion...is Cedric Diggory!"

The table of yellow and gold erupted in furious cheer that masked a groan of disappointment from other three houses as a tall, handsome boy with light brown hair rose to his feet. He blushed at his housemates' exuberant clapping and walked toward the door. Dumbledore gave a broad smile at the boy as he passed him by.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as when the cheers died down. "Now that 4 champions are chosen, we-"

Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking and the people in the hall blinked curiously until they all saw the goblet's fire grew red once more. Before the stunned eyes of the masses, sparks flew out and a long flame shot suddenly into the air, quickly followed by another one.

Two pieces of parchment fluttered down the air as Dumbledore slowly caught two of them. He held them out and stared blankly at the names written on the parchments and everyone in the room stared dumbfound at him. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out the names.

"Benjamin Potter... And Neville Longbottom."

The hall's gaze shifted from the Hogwarts' headmaster to the two Boys-Who-Lived sitting at the Gryffindor table. Benjamin and Neville looked shocked as they slowly rose up amongst the now silent hall. They stumbled out of their seats and slowly began to walk toward Dumbledore and their steps grew steadier and smug grins broke out of their faces.

Their smug grins faltered under the blank gazes of Dumbledore, staffs, and several Aurors. Wordlessly Dumbledore gestured at the door and they stepped into the room while Benjamin looked back at the shocked gazes of his parents while Neville did the same to his parents.

After the boys went inside, the silence was broken by the shaking voice of Lily Potter.

"A-Albus. What does this mean?" Stuttered Lily as she slowly rose up from her seat in the staff table.

But Dumbledore remained silent as he blankly stared at the parchments he was now holding.

"What is the meaning of this!" Karkaroff shouted as he banged his fist down on the table.

The loud sound broke the spell as the people shook out their shock and began to whisper heatedly. As the whispers began to grow and a frenzy of voice emerged.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore shouted out, quickly cutting through the hub of voices and the hall grew silent once more.

"Headmaster Smith. Headmaster Karkaroff. Madam Maxime. I believe we should discuss this as with the champions." Dumbledore quickly called out. "Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman should also attend."

Before he could move, the Potters and Longbottoms called out that they were coming with them. Dumbledore frowned as he was about to object but quickly nodded. As the adults walked briskly toward the door, the hall gasped again.

Turning back, the fire grew red again under the incredulous gazes of all those in the hall and sparks flew out. A tongue of flame shot out of the fire and a charred parchment appeared once more. For a moment no one spoke or breathed. With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore summoned the parchment to him and he automatically caught the paper absentmindly.

With a slight shake in his hands, Dumbledore unfolded the paper and his face immediately paled upon reading the name while his jaw dropped to the floor. To those in the hall, it seemed the aged headmaster's skin had literally whitened to the point of being dead and his eyes were wide as if they were about to pop out.

"A-Albus?" Lily called out with shaking voice.

Dumbledore slowly turned to face her and the adults in the room immediately swallowed from the thunderstruck expression on the Hogwarts headmaster. Turning his gaze back to the sea of faces who stared at him with baited breath, Dumbledore cleared his throat and licked his now dry lips. When he spoke, his voice came out in a hoarse whisper that nonetheless carried out to the silent hall.

"Aries Potter."

Several thousands of miles away from the shores of England, a certain emerald eyed individual with messy black hair stopped and frowned as he felt the sudden but small change in the air around him.

**Muhahaha! I'm soooo evil! The story has finally reached the interesting part! I apologize for taking too long to update but I want to write out decent chapter when I update, not one of those lame-assed short chapters. Also, I'm suffering from the authors' laziness.**

**I'm not sure of how to write out Fleur's french accent so I do apologize if it's not exactly correct.**


	11. The Intervention

The Intervention

Aries stood panting as his breaths came in quick gasps. He wasn't very winded but he did need more air due to the physical strain he was currently putting his body through. The air was hot and humid as sweat poured out from his skin and he could hear the distinctive sound of burning wood behind him. All around him, trees and plants surrounded the area and bathed the ground like a green carpet beneath the glares from the Sun while massive column of smoke rose ominously behind him.

His skin glistened with sweat and his clothes were in tatters with his shirt barely clinging onto his naked chest while his pants had rips here and there. His lean muscles rippled as they coiled and uncoiled from his movements. There were burn marks, cuts, and bruises all over his body and good portion of him was covered by blood but Aries paid them no heed. The surge of adrenaline rushing through his veins made him almost immune to the injuries his body had sustained and he particularly didn't care much about the fact that he was covered in blood and grime from head to toe. Besides the blood wasn't his anyway, at least most of it.

His lips were curled in a feral smile and his piercing emerald eyes glowed eerily with hellish fire and dancing darkness within. His messy, black hair was even wilder than usual and matted as they stuck to his skull while glistening with sweat and grime. He paid no attention to his body or the forest around him as he focused on the figure in front of him as he idly twirled his wands with both hands.

His Holly and Phoenix feather wand and the dark, steel wand spun daftly between his fingers and their runes glowed ominously with hellfire. The gleaming angelic blade, Judgement, was strapped onto his back as usual and on his waist, an ornate black and gold pistol was strapped to the side along with a dagger.

"Well this is turning out to be a fine day." Aries gave the figure in front of him a vicious smile. "You should take a good look around you. They'll be your last sight before I kill you."

The figure in front of him merely growled at him while narrowing his eyes. The figure was that of a tall man with storm-grey eyes tinted with red and orange hue of hellfire, he had a blonde hair and expressionless face that looked as if carved out from a stone. His clothes were also in tatters like the young Denarian and a nasty looking gash on his shoulder began to disappear as the Fallen's power healed the gruesome looking injury.

Balthrail. A rival of Nicodemus and Vesper.

With Dresden's help, he had been able to track him down to the distant jungles of Malaysia. Dresden was currently dealing with the White Council and gave him the assignment, which Aries had been more than eager to accept. Upon arriving at the enemy stronghold, he had slaughtered his way through the base and left the trail of destruction and death. Now, Balthrail stood before him.

"Meciel." The man spat the name is if it was a curse. "It was foolish of you to come here. I'm surprised that it took you this long to antagonize us once more."

"Now now Balthrail that is not how you greet your Lord. After all, Meciel _is_ one of the Denarian Lords." Aries chuckled out after waggling his index finger in a mocking fashion.

"You are the host?" Balthrail asked in a mild surprise. "I'm quite surprised Meciel didn't break your mind and took control."

"Oh she didn't. Besides, I would never allow it anyway. It's so much more fun for both of us if I have my own free will." Aries smirked at his enemy.

_'You seem quite sure of that.'_ Meciel said blandly despite the ancient fury and hatred she was currently feeling at her brethren.

_'I'm always sure Meciel. Besides, don't tell me you didn't enjoy the things I did.'_ Aries smugly pointed out despite the overwhelming fury she was feeling at the moment.

"No matter. Your host will be destroyed and your coin will be locked away." The Denarian hissed venomously.

"I already killed several of your slaves just couple hours ago. Varthiel, Urumviel, Tessriel and Magog all died at my hands. Their coins will spend next several millennia alone and you will be joining them." Aries sneered at the Fallen.

Without further words, Aries silently launched two jets of dark pulverizing curses at the Denarian standing before him. Balthrail nimbly sidestepped away from the curses with inhuman speed and raised his hand toward Aries just as the ground he was standing a moment ago exploded in shower of dirt and rocks. Hellfire erupted from his hand and raced toward him while scorching everything in its path into ashes.

Instead of racing toward him in a stream of fire, the hellfire grew wider shaped a form of a cone as it sought to cut off any sort of escape route. Not really wanting to cut through the fire, Aries gathered magic to his feet and _jumped_ into the air while casting a weightless charm on his body. He was able to catch the wind current and drifted away from the hellfire while raining down series of dark spells at the enemy below.

Balthrail snarled as he jumped away from a cutting spell and had to roll away from the torrent of hellfire that blasted apart the ground and burned whatever it could. As he rose up from his crouching position, he immediately had to bring up his arm to block the gleaming blade of Judgement that dropped from the above with intention of chopping him into two.

A loud clang filled the area and the surrounding flame were snuffed out from the intense burst of magic and the shockwave that followed it. Aries growled as he sought to push down the Judgement to cleave Balthrail into two but his effort was currently blocked by the wall of earth that rose up in front up him to protect his enemy. Instead of dirt and rocks, the wall of earth was made of iron and other hard substances. With his enhanced magical senses, he could even detect diamonds within the iron wall.

With a snarl of fury, Aries began to channel his magic and hellfire onto the Judgement and watched with satisfaction as the angelic blade was enveloped in writhing black lightning, thus increasing its power and potency. He had sheathed his wands while jumping down from the air to use Judgement, and now held the blade with two hands and struggled to burn through the wall of iron.

Before the blade could burn through the wall, a pillar of iron erupted from the ground and slammed into the young Denarian's stomach, hurtling him away. Aries grunted as he staggered up while gingerly rubbing his stomach with one of his hands and glared hatefully at Balthrail.

Balthrail stood up from his hiding position behind the iron wall and let out a cold chuckle as his body was enveloped by iron, forming a thick hull of an armor.

Hellfire blazed through his veins and a stench of sulfur filled his noise as the dark power soothed away his pain and healed his injuries_. 'Be careful beloved. Balthrail is forming an armor. This is his greatest strength, the impenetrable defense.'_ Meciel hissed with fury and hatred.

With his head throbbing with Meciel's desire for vengeance, Aries glared murderously at the figure in front of him. Balthrail was now covered from head to toe with thick iron armor. Glowing runes flashed all around the armor, giving it magical protection as well as strengthening it to withstand even the most powerful of attacks. From behind the Spartan-like-helm, his eyes glowed with reddish and orange hue of hellfire.

While Balthrail wasn't as strong as Meciel, Nicodemus, and Vesper, the most powerful of the Fallens, he had the most powerful defense. Which allowed him to be one of the leaders of the Order of Blackened Denarius.

_'Our usual spells won't work on him now. Not even the dark spells fueled by hellfire you use will have an effect on him.'_ Meciel advised him before her host could reach for his wand. _'Our best bet is Judgement and somehow force him to abandon the armor or find a weak point.'_

The ground next to be bubbled like a heating water and a thin piece of iron shot out before forming into a scythe. This too, had hellfire decorating it and the runes flashed ominously with dark power.

With loud roars of defiance, the two demons charged at each other. The lightning wreathed sword clashed against the hellfire enhanced scythe as the two Denarians danced with flurry of blows, parries, and strikes, each gauging one another as they tried to find weak points.

Whenever the weapons met, sparks of magic erupted followed by flashes of bright lights. Balthrail swung his massive scythe but Aries caught the weapon at its handle with Judgement and brought it downward toward the ground. Without hesitation, he kicked the armored Denarian but Balthrail merely stumbled back a step. Bringing up his sword, Aries stabbed him with all his strength as the lightning around the Judgement crackled with power.

The sharp tip of the sword connected at the joints between the chest plate and shoulder plate and there was a resounding crack. Balthrail hissed in pain and punched him while stumbling back a few steps. There on the joints between the chest plate and shoulder plate, a crack had formed where the angelic blade had impaled his armor. It was only a thin gap between the plates of armor and the young Denarian had clearly sought to aim his attacks at it.

Aries smiled as he witnessed the crack between the joints. His armor may be impenetrable but those joints between the plates of iron didn't offer as much protection. His sharp eyes caught a trail of blood that leaked out. The last attack had clearly cut through the gaps in the armor and had injured the body encased within.

_'Few more attacks like that and we might be able to draw him out.' _Meciel whispered in his mind.

Flicking his wrist, Aries brought out his steel wand and gripped it tightly as dark sparks flashed from the end. The two opponents glared at one another before charging forward with incredible speed. Aries swung Judgement in a savage diagonal motion and it clashed against the hellfire-enhanced scythe with loud clang and sparks of light.

Flicking his wand toward the helm, he snarled out _"Lumos Maxima!"_

A blinding light cascaded out from his wand and Balthrail howled as it blinded him. Squinting his eyes against the light, he stabbed at Balthrail's armpit where there wasn't much armor. Judgement briefly met resistance against the steel armor before the blade cracked through and sank into the flesh. Snarling in pain and fury, the armored Denarian slashed his scythe blindly and the butt of the weapon crashed against Aries' cheek.

His head whipped to the side from the impact and Aries jumped but not before the blade of scythe slashed at him from shoulder to his hip. He hissed in pain as blood seeped out from his wound and glared balefully at Balthrail who was shaking his head and blinking his eyes rapidly from the effect of bright light that blinded him.

Spitting out blood from his mouth, Aries stood up while Meciel began to heal his wound. It definitely felt good being a Denarian seeing as how his wounds immediately began to close, making him nearly invulnerable but to the most powerful of attacks.

Raising his hand, Balthrail spat out series of incantation and runes began to flash out in the air in front of him. Light began to warp itself around the space in the middle of runes and the darkness seemed to radiate from its core.

_'A vortex! Don't let that get close to us! You must redirect it or send it back at him!' _Meciel snarled out as hellfire blazed through his veins with stench of sulphur.

Leveling Judgement toward the spherical vortex, Aries channeled his power to the ancient blade and watched as dark lightning crackled before shooting toward the sphere. However, the lightning merely disappeared into the vortex and the very dimensions seemed to warp itself around it, almost like a black hole. Snarling out with anger, Aries began to chant in the language Dresden taught him as his wand drew out series of complex runes with Meciel's help.

Balthrail coldly laughed out as the vortex spell was finished and gave him a maniacal grin. "This is the end renegade."

With that, the vortex pulsed and shot toward him and Aries watched as everything in its path was sucked into it, leaving barren of nothingness in its awake. He spat out the last few syllables and jumped back as fast as he could. The vortex clashed against the magical barrier of the rune and it flashed violently as the black hole hungrily tore through the protection rune and entered the center of the circle of rune, where Aries was standing a few moments ago.

Aries could literally feel the gravitational pull of the vortex and slammed the Judgement deep into the ground and held onto the handle for dear life before activating the _real_ set of runes he created with Meciel's help. The hidden runes flared with light from the ground and a shimmering purple barrier formed around the vortex, effectively trapping the black hole within and stopping its gravitational pull.

When he drew out the series of runes, he wasn't forming the runes to protect himself from the vortex like Balthrail had believed. No, the vortex was far too strong and it would've taken tremendous amount of energy to deflect an attack like that, instead he was forming the runes to trap the vortex in place when it came within its circle.

As soon as he felt the shimmering purple barrier flare up, he apparated with a crack, a sound which was blocked by the noise of runes flaring up. He apparated instant later behind the stunned form of Balthrail and thrust the Judgement at his body just as he began to turn around. The Judgement cracked through the gap between the plates and pierced his left shoulder and Balthrail let out a snarl of fury. Before he could use his scythe, Aries stepped closer to Balthrail and connected the end of his wand against the steel armor.

To Balthrail's shock, another rune shot forth from Aries' wand and etched itself onto his armor. Immediately, he felt a strong pull seemed to yank him backward. He hissed as he tried to resist the pull but slowly and steadily, it seemed to pull him toward the swirling vortex that was trapped within the purple barrier.

Aries smiled vindictively as he further drove Judgement onto his enemy and increased the power running into the ancient blade and watched with satisfaction as the black lightning grew more violent and destructive.

Balthrail howled in anger and pain as he felt the powerful lightning enter his body via the sword. He could feel the lightning liquefy his muscles while sending powerful voltage that paralyzed him. His muscles twitched and flayed as he sought to regain control but the nerves were far too confused from the electricity. The longer it took, the closer he came to the vortex.

Aries felt a dark laughter erupt from his chest as he felt Balthrail struggle. He only had two choices, either get sucked into the vortex and get ripped to shreds or release his armor since the runes he left on it was the reason why he was being dragged toward his doom.

Balthrail, apparently realizing the same thing, snarled and released his magic that fueled to the armor. The glowing runes on the armor disappeared and they seemed to crack before flying toward the black hole piece by piece, revealing the figure within. Balthrail slammed his fist onto Aries' chest and watched him fly back several feet while the sword was savagely ripped away from his shoulder.

The vortex pulsed as it began to draw close to its end and entered its last stage, growing even more violent. It began to collapse inward and grew smaller and smaller as it sucked away everything near it. The trapping runes flared brightly before they too, were sucked away. When it reached its critical point, the vortex, now a size of a basketball exploded in a massive shockwave that tore through everything in its path.

Aries and Balthrail haphazardly flattened themselves on the ground and felt the shockwave pass over them. The area was now devoid of everything and formed into a large crater.

Aries grunted as he heaved himself up while glaring at Balthrail, who was also getting up. The other Denarian grimaced at the wound on his shoulder and hissed out in frustration. A glowing sigil appeared on his forehead and he began to change into his demon form.

His arms elongated and formed into insect-like claws of scorpion and multiple appendages erupted from his sides. His entire skin blacked and plates of bones and chitin of insects surround him. His legs seemed to disappear into a large body of an insect and a stinging, scorpion like tail erupted from the back of his hip. Two sets of eyes appeared on his head, one set glowing grey while another glowed fiery red.

Balthrail's upper body remained human-like except that he now had four arms that ended with powerful-looking claws. His lower body was that of a scorpion with the tail to boot. He looked something like a cross between a man, a scorpion and a lobster.

Aries let out a low whistle as he stared disgustedly at Balthrail's demon form. "Damn, you are one disgusting piece of an insect."

Balthrail let out an inhuman roar of challenge and leaped at him. Two ashen wings of bones erupted from his back as they slashed at the lobster-like claws that sought to slice his body. Leaping back from the rampaging demon, Aries brought up Judgement and parried the sharp tail, and stabbed at the upper body. The stab, was blocked by the thick claw and was savagely back-handed by another one and landed several feet away.

He glared furiously at Balthrail and spread out his wings. Dark emerald flames enveloped them and the space in between and jumped into the air, granting him an advantage of flight against the grounded foe. With flurry of movements, Aries began to rain down series of deadly curses at the demon below and watched as the ground exploded with shower of dust and rocks.

Balthrail roared with anger as he dodged this way and that and spewed a torrent of liquid hellfire from his maw at the winged enemy. Aries flapped to the left and descended toward the demon with frightening speed with Judgement crackling with lightning. The scorpion tail lashed out and grazed past his shoulder, leaving a thin trail of blood.

With a roar of fury, Aries brought down Judgement and impaled the angelic blade on the armored demon near the base of his tail. The speed and momentum of the descent, combined with the destructive power of the blade, proved to be enough to penetrate the steel-like armor of the demon. Balthrail screeched with pain and thrashed wildly as he felt the lightning flow through him and sought to get the Denarian off his back.

Aries apparated with a crack and appeared on the ground next to him before slamming the butt of his wand on the ground. Immediately, giant hands made of dirt and rocks rose up from the ground and grabbed onto the struggling demon, trapping it for a time.

Aries grinned tiredly as he watched Balthrail struggle against the animated hands. It was a difficult spell and required lot of energy to cast but it would provide necessary distraction. With a flap of his wings, Aries rose to the air once more and began to wave his wands in circular motion at the ground below. Sulphur filled his nose and hellfire blazed through his veins and he watched with dark glee as the hellfire erupted from the end of his wand and bathed the struggling demon.

With victoriously laughter, Aries began to twirl the stream of hellfire into a tornado of inferno and watched as it engulfed Balthrail in the surrounding area. He could feel the heat coming off in waves from the flaming tornado and the stench of sulphur reeked in the air followed by rushing of wind due to the abrupt change in temperature. All the while, he could hear the roar of agony and fury of Balthrail as he was roasted alive by the fire of hell.

With a flick of his wand the raging inferno disappeared and he yelled out _"Aqua Eructo!"_

A jet of water erupted from his black-steel wand with icy blue-colored light and bathed the demon below and a massive steam rose to the air. The water immediately cooled the scorching burns left by the hellfire and the sudden change in temperature served to harden Balthrail, making him nearly immobile.

With another flick of his wrist, lightning erupted from the end of his wand. Instead of shooting toward Balthrail, it elongated to form a blade made of pure lightning. With a snarl of hatred, Aries dropped down to the ground and shoved the lightning blade down the throat of Balthrail.

A gurgle rose from the demon and Aries met the two pairs of eyes with a cold smile. His entire form might have been encased with near-impenetrable armor but the same could not be said about the inside. Aries had managed to find an entrance through with he could damage the demon from within, the mouth.

An inhuman wail erupted from the demon before Aries twisted the lightning blade and severed Balthrail's head from inside out. The body began to twitch uncontrollably and before his tired gaze, switch back to its original human form. He tiredly stalked forward and wrenched Judgement free from the corpse and saw a small silver coin flow out of the headless body along with rush of blood.

A victorious laughter erupted from his chest and his put his foot on the headless corpse and raised the Judgement toward the heaven before letting out a victorious roar, proclaiming for the world to hear of his triumph. Above, the sky seemed to be painted with red and orange glow of sunset as his yell echoed throughout the jungle.

Aries panted for breath and slowly released the hellfire that had been roaring in his veins. As hellfire faded, a blazing warmth replaced the fire of hell and he felt Meciel radiate strong sense of approval and great affection. Aries closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh as he basked in the feelings, allowing them to wash over his tired mind.

_'You did it beloved.'_ Meciel whispered proudly. _'You defeated Balthrail and his near-impenetrable armor. My beloved Aries, I am so proud of you.'_

He could feel the waves of pride and triumph from his guardian angel and a soft smile lit his lips as her warming presence flooded his body.

_'That's one step closer to our goal.'_ He thought tiredly but couldn't help but to grin proudly. _'And I must say that I enjoyed this fight even though it was somewhat tiring.'_

_'Indeed, my beloved hero.'_ Meciel chuckled. _'We shall worry about other Denarians at later time. For now, let us enjoy the victory and rest.'_

Aries felt his lips curl in a smug grin. "I'm a hero now right? Say Meciel, how would you like to pay back your awesome hero by showing me your naked body?"

Meciel's soft laughter echoed in his mind as he picked up Balthrail's coin and place them at his pocket along with the coins from his earlier kill.

"Hey I'm serious here Meciel! I do need proper motivation if I'm going to kill off all the bosses of Blackened Denarius." Aries exclaimed. "Or better yet, how about you give me a strip dance for my sweet victory today?"

With a soft flash of light, Meciel appeared behind him before wrapping her arms around him. He could feel her soft mounds pressed against his back as she kissed his cheek. _'Hmmm. Perhaps I will think about it. You have been a very good boy and did kill Balthrail.'_

Before he could respond, Aries suddenly felt a change in the air around him. His burrows immediately furrowed as his magical senses began to tingle. Behind him, he could feel Meciel stiffen slightly as she too, felt the change.

It felt so... strange. It seemed as if the magic around him were reaching out to bind him to something. A normal wizard or witches wouldn't be able to feel it but a powerful magic user like him could feel the subtle shifting of magic around him. Meciel narrowed her silver eyes as she examined their surroundings.

"Meciel, what's happening? It feels like magic is trying to bind me." Aries muttered softly as his eyes narrowed, scanning for any sign of enemies.

_'I don't know beloved. The magical pull is rather subtle and weak as of the moment.'_ She replied back softly.

His lips pursed before his own magic rose and batted away the tendrils of magic that seemed to seek him out. With a shrug, Aries turned his attention back to the surrounding jungle. The area where he fought Balthrail was utterly annihilated and he could see the crater where the vortex disappeared.

_'We should go back now. It's time for rest and we need to give the coins to Dresden. He'll take it to the Carpenters and they will keep them safe.'_ Meciel murmured at him.

"Sure. I hope you give a strip dance when we get back. I'm seriously in mood for your reward. Otherwise I'll probably end up going to where Sephiria is for some relief." He said with an eager grin.

Twirling on his feet, the Denarian Renegade disappeared with a loud crack.

.oOo.

Aries growled in annoyance and frustration. It had been nearly a week since his fight with Balthrail and the he was getting pissed. After arriving back at his apartment in Chicago, he had contacted Dresden and gave him the silver coins he won. Dresden had been quite surprised that he was able to take down 5 Denarians in single day and quickly left so that he may give the coins to the Knights of Cross for safe keeping. Then, Aries had a bloody fantastic time as he watched his personal guardian angel give him lap dance for his good deed of eliminating her enemies, which he burned into his memory using the Third Sight.

Unfortunately, the lap dance had done little to quench his desire and only served to heighten it. He had, in his irritation, ended up visiting the White Court vampires before spending the night of debauchery at their mansion.

The week had started off in a blast but as time went by, Aries found himself getting irritated. The reason for his irritation was that the constant pull of magic around him. The tendrils of magic was always seeking him out and sought to bind him to something, only to be rebuffed by his own magic. While the pull wasn't strong, it was constantly seeking him out and it was getting irritating. Even Meciel seemed to be annoyed by it.

"Ok, this is just getting annoying. It's been nearly a week and it still hasn't given up." Aries growled angrily.

"You got any ideas Meciel?" Aries asked his Fallen.

Meciel didn't answer immediately as she pondered this new development. "I have been observing the pull for a while now and I have my suspicions, which you are not going to like."

"Oh? And that would be?"

She frowned before she answered. "It's almost as if you have been entered into a magical contract."

Aries was silent for moment before he exploded. "WHAT! A MAGICAL CONTRACT?!"

Nightfang hissed with irritation as he slithered into more comfortable position for his daily nap. Meciel gave a curt nod. Aries seethed but quickly reigned in his temper as anger and fury bubbled within him. Just how the hell did he managed to get into a blasted magical contract?

Aries began to pace around in irritation. In order to enter into a magical contract, one usually had to give his or her consent and that included signing in their full name or giving their blood. Aries sure as hell knew that he never wrote down his full name anywhere. No one knew his full name but select few people and they'd never use it behind his back or he would make sure to kill them all himself. His blood, on the other hand, was another matter.

He never spilled any unnecessary blood unless he was in battle and it was quite possible that someone had gotten his spilled blood somehow. For all he knew, he could've entered into a dark ritual that could result in a disastrous consequence for him. He rubbed his forehead and pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on.

"Can you feel where the pull is coming from?" Aries asked Meciel patiently.

_'Yes, I do believe so. Magic always leaves traces and I can point out the general direction. It wouldn't be long before we can pinpoint the exact location.' _Meciel answered him.

Aries grinned coldly. He would track down the pull and learn just how he had gotten into the damned contract. Then, whoever responsible will suffer a long and agonizing death.

_'We should check with Cessbulby for more information. It's been a nearly a month since we talked to her and we need to know how Order of Blackened Denarius is doing.' _Meciel advised him.

Aries nodded in agreement. As much as he wanted to track down and kill whoever responsible, it wouldn't do well to just charge into a situation. The more information they have, the better off they will be. He strode into the kitchen and grabbed various fruits and yogurts he kept around to bribe the little fae and quickly set them on the table before drawing runes of summoning.

He called out the name of faery he wanted to summon and sat back on his chair as silvery glow started flashing into the air before a small form of Cessbulby appeared. Her shaggy, silken mane of pinkish-red hair swayed and her bright blue orbs blinked confusedly before narrowing at the alien surroundings.

"Mortal!" She demanded angrily as she pointed her slender finger at him. "Release me at once!"

"Relax Cess." Aries drawled while using the nickname he gave her. "It's me. Aries. Meciel says hi by the way."

The tiny farie blinked before her face lit up with joy. "Aries!" Her wings fluttered as she rose to his eye level.

"Why haven't you called me recently! Do you know how much I wanted the fruits?" She demanded angrily, going from overjoyed to irritated in a span of few seconds.

Aries gave her a sheepish smile and gestured at the various fruits and yogurts behind her. With a loud squeal, Cessbulby dove into the food as she ate them gluttonously.

"How have you been Cess?" Aries asked with slight amusement and disgust as the said fae gorged upon the food.

Cessbubly began to rattle off of the recent news of the Winter Court as she devoured the strawberry.

"Oooh! By the way, congratulations on your fight against Balthrail. Maeve was really excited when she saw you fight and even more so when you won! She ended up sporting the whole night after you did that victory pose!" Cessbulby gushed excitedly.

Aries felt his cheeks flush a little when he heard how Maeve ended up sporting the entire night because of his victory. His lips quirked up in smug smirk as he knew the Winter Lady was quite interested in him. At Meciel's chuckle, he brought himself back to the rattling Cessbulby.

"That's nice Cess. Recently, I got involved in a magical contract without my knowledge. Can you tell me where the contract is? Better yet, tell me who entered me into it." Aries asked as he stopped Cessbulby's chatter.

"Well I don't know that much. All I can say is that it's centered in Britain. Hogwarts to be exact. As for how or who entered you into the contract, I don't know since we didn't watched when it happened." Cessbulby answered while giggling at the disappointed look on the young Denarian.

_'Hogwarts is the wand-wizarding school in Britain. I believe your brother goes there and so did your parents.' _Meciel murmured.

Aries frowned at that particular news. He hadn't thought about his so-called-family since his visit to Diagon Alley nearly 7 years ago. He had been interested about his birth family and so had searched them when he was a child but upon learning that he was abandoned to Dursleys by his own family, his interest quickly faded away.

Besides, he had a new family now and Meciel was everything he needed along with Nightfang.

Would he truly want to confront his biological family? It was very likely that he would see them when he goes to Hogwarts to investigate. Aries shook his head, he would deal with that particular issue later.

"And what about the Order of Blackened Denarius? Did anything important happen recently?" Aries asked curiously.

Cessbulby let out another giggle. "They were quite shocked that you ended up killing Balthrail and the other four. Nicodemus finally found out that it was the Knights of Cross who killed his daughter all those years ago and that you were involved in it. He's quite pissed and swore to destroy the Knight's family and kill them as well as you. His name was Carpenter or something."

He frowned at the news and pursed his lips. "When did Nicodemus make the oath?" He asked slowly.

"It was really recent." Cessubulby answered with a shrug. "Do you have any more food?"

"No. No food." He answered absent mindly.

Cessubulby looked around the kitchen before disappearing with a glitter of lights. Aries barely noticed that she was gone as he pondered this new development. Recent for an immortal being like her could mean hours or days and knowing Nicodemus, he would probably act quickly. He never liked the Carpenters but knew that Dresden was a family friend seeing as he was dating their eldest daughter. Dresden was still away from White Council business and would no doubt bitch about it if the Carpenters were killed.

Aries sighed as he groaned inwardly at annoyance. He got up and walked into the living room where Judgement was leaning against the wall. He grabbed the hilt of the blade and strapped it onto his back and reached for the ornate black and gold pistol.

_'This is a good opportunity. If you save them, they'll be in your debt and you can use the Life Debt formed from this later on.'_ Meciel soothed his irritation.

"Yeah but I'm so not looking forward to meeting Charity again. She's too bitchy." Aries grumbled out.

Aries let out a sigh as he looked out the window. Thunder clouds covered the sky and rough shower of rain soaked the city. With a frown, he apparated out of his apartment.

.oOo.

With a loud crack, Aries appeared once more on the large two-story house with white paintjob. Picket fence surrounded the neat looking lawn and flowers decorated the garden. Some children toys lay here and there over the lawn and a blue minivan was parked on the driveway.

Aries swore as he was immediately drenched from head to toe within few seconds and quickly got off the street. Dark frown grew on his face as he approached the gate. The house was protected by angelic ward that prevented anything or anyone dark from entering but since he was here with pure intention, he was allowed in without any injury. Aries could help but to grimace as the aura of intense power that surrounded him and they emitted holiness that made him uncomfortable.

He briskly made his way toward the path and gave a sharp rap with his knuckles. With his enhanced hearing, he could hear the footsteps within the house and waited impatiently as he was further soaked by the rain. The door opened and a tall woman with dark eyes, silken blonde hair and a polite smile appeared, Charity Carpenter. However, her smile disappeared when she saw the Denarian with irritated scowl on his face.

Before she could open her mouth, Aries cut her off. "Your family is in danger. Gather your kids and belongings. We need to leave now."

Charity closed her mouth and looked at him coldly. "Are you joking? I do not trust you Denarian."

Aries gritted his teeth. Why can this woman just do what he asked and just be done with it?

"Do I look like I'm joking? I couldn't care shit if you and your family were to die but Dresden will bitch about it if you did." He snapped irritably.

Charity Carpenter remained quiet but seemed to pale slightly when she realized that her family might truly be in danger. While she and the young Denarian didn't get along well, Aries wasn't the type to pull pranks concerning the lives of her family; he just prefer to not deal with them at all. She gave a curt nod of understanding and quickly moved into the house and reluctantly allowed Aries came in. He ran his hand through his hair and brushed the water-soaked hair away from his eyes.

From inside the house, he could hear the sharp commands Charity gave her children and the general confusion. After few minutes of impatiently waiting, he saw Charity, along with Mathew, Hope and little Harry. They had several luggage and backpacks with them and Charity's face was tight with concern while her children looked merely confused.

"Mom what is this about? You said something about us being in danger." Mathew asked as he adjusted the backpack.

Charity opened her mouth but Aries pushed away from the wall he was leaning on and made his presence known. "The Order of Blackened Denarius." He grumbled sourly.

Mathew immediately narrowed his eyes and spat out. "Demon."

Aries glared at the insolent fool and turned his attention back to Charity. "Where are the others?"

"Daniel and Alicia are outside and Amanda and Molly are at magic school." Charity answered quickly before they could get into another argument. Her family was in danger and she would not tolerate any argument at the moment.

Aries pursed his lips. "Amanda and Molly are safer than you as of the moment but call Daniel and Alicia and tell them to go to a safe place, a holy place if possible." He murmured. "Your angelic wards might protect you against the likes of me but regular humans can walk right through."

Without bothering to look them, he turned on his heels and led them out of the house. He could hear their grumbles and murmur of irritation.

"You need to get to the safe house. I'll go and tell Amanda and Molly to do the same." He grumbled sourly.

At that moment, a dark van pulled over on the side of the street and let out a loud, screeching noise as it came to a stop in the front of the house. Aries narrowed his eyes as he saw several men jumped out from it with trench coats and cold, hard faces. With his enhanced senses, he could hear the muffled clinking of metal and a gleam of barrels.

"Inside the house now. I'll deal with them." He commanded softly as he allowed a tickle of hellfire to flow into him.

Charity paled on the sight of the men and quickly led her terrified looking children back into the house. She wrenched the door open and led them inside before locking the door with audible snap.

As soon as he heard the door close, Aries strode forward to meet the six men with a brilliant smile. He was getting irritated of dealing with Carpenters and this would be an excellent way to relieve some stress. The small tickle of hellfire tingled his nerves pleasantly and he could smell the faint smell of sulphur as the men spotted him.

His mind relaxed and allowed trial of thoughts and emotions to flow into him. His eyes immediately hardened as he felt cold determination from the men as well as killing intent. Assassins.

With a flick of his wrists, two wands shot out and he brought them up in a blur of motion far too fast to be human.

_'Praecido!'_ He hissed mentally.

Two jets of silver lights erupted from the ends of his wands and shot toward the armed men. The Two in the front immediately rolled out of the way but the two at the very back were hit by the curses. Their eyes widened in surprise and pain as the silver light pierced their chest a fountain of blood spurted out. They let out a gurgle as they choked on their blood and Aries let out a cold smile when he saw a gaping hole in their chests.

The remaining four men immediately brought out their semi-automatic rifles and fired dozens of bullets per second. The bullets impacted into a burning dome of dark magic that glowed with fire red hue of hellfire and Aries smiled coldly from behind the protective dome he conjured. Spinning the wands in his hands, he slammed them down onto the earth and watched as two sharp spears, made out of rocks, erupt from the ground and pierce the two men closest to him. They let out pained screams as the spears pierced their gut, allowing their stomach acid to pour out along with their blood.

With roar of rage, the remaining two men dropped their now empty guns and drew out Japanese katana from within their trench coat and charged at him. Aries chuckled darkly at their foolish bravado and sheathed one of his wand before whipping out his ornate black and gold pistol and shot the one on the left. A loud crack echoed and his head snapped back from the impact as the bullet slammed into his forehead before exiting out the back.

With flick of his wand, he sent a silent _Expelliarmus_ spell toward the last man when he was about two feet away. The man had no room to dodge and the red beam of light slammed into his chest and the katana flew out of his grasp. The man was thrown back a feet and before he could rise again, Aries immobilized his body with _Petrificus Totalis_.

"This is it? This is the quality of assassins Nicodemus sent? I expected lot more from them." Aries muttered with disappointment.

_'Nicodemus was expecting a defenseless family and probably didn't expect you to interfere. I'm sure he'll send more powerful ones after you.'_ Meciel chuckled.

Aries pointed his wand at the last remaining assassin and gave him a cold smile. "Let's see if you know anything about Nicodemus." He whispered dangerously.

_"Legilimens."_ He muttered.

Forming his mental probe into a sharp lance, Aries dove into the mind of the assassin and pierced through whatever mental defense he had. While he was certainly more trained in the mind art compared to regular people, he was no match more a powerful wizard like Aries. He smashed through his defense and began to shift through his memories.

After a while, Aries pulled out from the man's mind and shattered his mind completely, leaving him as a nothing more than a drooling vegetable.

_'Well, he does know the several bases of the Order of Blackened Denarius but nothing concrete.'_ Meciel murmured as she shifted through the memories they just ripped out.

Aries shrugged. He expected such. There was no way that Nicodemus would allow his underlings to know anything important since he trusted no one but himself. With a flick of his wand, he sent a cutting curse on the neck of the catatonic assassin and watched with dispassionate gaze as he was decapitated.

Running his hand through the rain-soaked hair, he looked back at the house and yelled out. "It's safe! You can come out now!"

The door opened almost reluctantly and Charity stepped out as she led her children to the parked minvan. Her face reflected grim disgust at the sight of butchered corpses and she looked at him with solemn appreciation and gratitude. Mathew and Hope looked sickly pale at the corpses littering their lawn and baby Harry was safely snuggled into Charity's chest.

Looking around the lawn, Aries couldn't really blame them. He was a Denarian and gruesome death didn't bother him as much but they were regular humans. Two men were lying on the ground with gaping holes on their chest while other two were impaled with a spear made out of stone. The last two were decapitated or had a bullet hole in the forehead.

"Go to a safe place, somewhere Order of Blackened Denarius won't find you." Aries said quietly.

He ran his hand through his wet hair again. "Now, about your other children?" He asked.

"I called Daniel and Alicia and told them to go to a church. The priest will get them to a safe place. As for Amanda and Molly, they are at Salem. Molly left for England a week ago for some kind of tournament between magic schools." Said Charity.

Aries let out an annoyed groan. Why does this have to be so damn complicated?

"I'll get them and warn them." He said curtly.

As he spun around to apparate, Charity grabbed his arm. He turned his head to look back at her with unreadable expression.

"Thank you." She said quietly, her voice solemn and grateful. "Thank you for saving my family."

Aries grunted and rolled his eyes. With brisk pace, he walked out from the ward and disappeared with loud crack as the Carpenters watched him vanish with solemn eyes.

.oOo.

With crack, Aries appeared once more with his trench coat billowing behind him like a cape. He was currently in a back room of a wand-wizarding restaurant a block away from Salem's Institute of Magic. He opened the door and nonchalantly stepped out and the sound of clinking dishes and chattering laughter. Some of the workers gave him a curious glance and many quirked their eyebrows when they spotted a beautiful, yet deadly looking sword strapped onto his back.

Aries paid no attention to them and stepped out of the restaurant and began to walk toward his destination after casting muggle-repelling charm. Ahead of him, he could see the steel gates and stone walls surrounding what seemed to be like an university campus. Next to the gate, he could see a small guardhouse.

_'This is the Salem's Institute of Magic? It looks more like an university to me.'_ Aries thought idly.

He approached the guardhouse and knocked on the window. Peering inside, he saw a plump-looking security with a beer belly look up from his _Playboy_ magazine. The guard blinked at him before letting out a wide yawn as he covered his mouth.

"Can I help you?" The man said out lazily as he went back to reading his porn.

"Is this Salem's Institute of Magic?" He coolly asked.

The man's head jerked up and stared at him.

"I'm looking for Amanda Carpenter and Molly Carpenter. There had been a family emergency." Aries said in a bored tone but his eyes flickered here and there as he searched for Nicodemus' assassins.

The man grunted and opened the door. Aries blinked in surprise as he stepped into the small guardhouse. The inside of the guardhouse was much larger than it looked than it did on the outside. Marbles tiled floor and a fireplace decorated the room.

"Amanda Carpenter and Molly Carpenter huh?" The guard muttered. "The students are having lunch right now and Professor Carpenter left a week ago to England."

Aries sighed in annoyance. "Then where is Amanda Carpenter?"

"I would try out the cafeteria." The guard suggested.

"And where would that be?" He asked impatiently.

.oOo.

Several minutes later, Aries walked into a large hall with various tables scattered here and there filled with chattering students. On the far side of the hall, there was a long line of crimson robed students waiting for the serving bench and arched windows were fitted on the walls, allowing the light to shine through and the people to see the clear blue sky.

Aries frowned as hundreds of different thoughts and emotions bombarded his consciousness. He immediately slammed his mental walls into place and sighed with relief when the chattering noises and waves of emotions faded away. The only thing he could now feel was the people's general mood.

_'Just what do the schools these days teach? Don't they ever learn Occulemency?' _Aries thought with irritation.

He began to scan the tables for the sign of his target. He saw several girls his age all with blond hair but dismissed them when he got better look at their features as he slowly walked through the cafeteria. His frown grew worse and worse until he was nearly scowling with annoyance. Why is it so damn hard to find one freaking girl? He just wanted get this over with so that he could go kill the one responsible for entering him into a magical contract.

As he passed by tables, he received curious and interested looks from the students. He stuck out like a sore thumb amongst crimson robed students since he was dressed in entirely black. He wore black trench coat over the black button up shirt with slim black leggings and black combat boots. Lot of students seemed to be staring at his way and while it may have been flattering for a while, he didn't like to be in the center of attention for too long. Being center of attention meant that he was open to attack with a big target painted all over him and he didn't like the feeling one bit.

The boys seemed to stare at awe at the beautiful yet deadly looking sword strapped onto his back. Even to their untrained and amateur eyes, it was an elegant looking weapon. Girls, on the other hand, grated on his nerves with their high-pitched giggles and excited chatter as they looked at him like a piece of meat.

_'This is quite funny. Normally you wouldn't mind it as much since you would probably seduce them and have sex.' _Meciel sniggered in his mind, further darkening his mood. _'So what changed?'_

_'Shut up Meciel.'_ He grumbled sourly. _'I don't like being put on a spotlight like this. Makes me feel like a giant target amongst bunch of snipers.'_

As he walked further into the cafeteria, he attracted more and more attention until his eyes were twitching in annoyance. Amanda Carpenter better be found fast or he would end up slaughtering everyone in the cafeteria in irritation and frustration.

Sure enough one brave girl walked up to him while batting her eyelashes at him. Her lips curved into a smile and gave him a saucy wink. "Hey there, I don't think you are a student here. Is there something you need help with?"

Aries almost glared at her and was about to dismiss her attempt at talk to him but quickly reconsidered. "Yeah, as a matter of fact I'm looking for someone. Do you know where Amanda Carpenter is?" He asked as the girl blushed under his piercing, emerald eyes.

"Am-Amanda Carpenter? She should be over there." The girl stuttered out while pointing at the table few feet away from him.

He turned and narrowed his eyes as he scanned the mentioned table and spotted the mane of dirty-blonde hair amongst girls and boys. With a curt nod, he briskly strode over while leaving the girl behind with flushed cheeks.

.oOo.

Amanda Carpenter was currently having a very good day. The weather was very good and she had just taken a charm test which she aced. She was sitting on her usual table with her friends as they chatted about this and that. Only thing that interrupted her time was that her ex-boyfriend, Greg Smith, was staring at her with look of longing and anger from a table away.

Honestly, who did he think he was anyway? He had been far too needy and possessive of her, not even allowing her to talk or hug her male friends in fit of jealousy. He had even pressured her into going _much_ further than kissing, which she certainly was _not_ ready for.

But it was only a minor inconvenience at best, she would not allow the thought to ruin her cheerful day.

"What are they all talking about?" Emily Cornet murmured from her left as she peered at the students, who seemed to be engaged in excited whispers.

"I think it's about that kid over there." Alexis Blackwood pointed at something from her right. Following her finger, Amanda saw a boy dressed in entirely black with a trench coat. He was currently talking with Kristen Liberty, the school's biggest flirt.

"Oooh! He's a cutie! He's pretty hot!" Madison Conner, the girl sitting across from her, exclaimed.

Amanda looked more closely at the boy dressed in black and couldn't help but to feel that he looked somewhat familiar. His face was slightly turned away from her direction, making it difficult to see his entire face. What drew her attention was that there was a beautiful but deadly looking sword strapped onto his back. The sword, like the boy, seemed quite familiar.

"Whoa dude, check out the guy's sword! It's freaking cool!" One of the boys sitting at her table exclaimed as he nudged his friend.

Kristen Liberty seemed to blush and suddenly pointed at their table and the boy gave a curt nod and strode over to their direction.

"Ohmigod! He's coming over here!" Alexis Blackwood whispered excitedly. Sure enough, the boy strode over to their table and nonchalantly plopped down on the seat in front of her much to the incredulous gazes of those on the table.

The boy seemed to be around their age and taller than average height. He had a lean build and Amanda could see muscles on his chest as his top buttons on his button-up shirt were undone. He had an almost heart-shaped face and wide, almond-shaped eyes. His eyes were deep emerald with icy look to them and had alabaster skin that shone healthily under the light.

Amanda blushed slightly at the exposed chest and squirmed from his piercing gaze.

"Amanda." The boy greeted her with a sneer. "How...nice to meet you again."

Amanda blinked in surprise, and looked more closely at him then they widened in alarm and surprise. Her jaws dropped open and she dropped the spoon full of food she had in her hand.

No wonder the boy looked so familiar, it was because she had _met_ him.

Before her was the young Denarian she met all those years ago. The same Denarian that Harry Dresden, her eldest sister's boyfriend, had taken as a student and business partner. The last time she had seen him was nearly three years ago on his brief visit to their house along with Dresden.

Aries Angelos.

Currently, he was smirking at her look of shock. She managed to close her mouth and swallowed heavily, very much aware of the silent table as her friends looked at her incredulously.

"A-Aries." She stuttered in shock. "Wha-What... How... What are you doing here?"

"Amanda, you know this guy?" Madison Conner said with surprise.

Amanda nodded dumbly. Just what was he doing here? Her fingers felt numb but she slowly reached inside her robes and grasped her wand.

"There had been a family emergency. Your mom sent me. We need to go. Now." He said curtly.

"What?" Amanda exclaimed. Her friends looked at her with shock and as they alternatively looked between her and Aries. "Wait a moment. What do you mean by family emergency? Say that again slowly."

"Oh for fuck's sake." His eyes narrowed and let out an annoyed scowl. "Your family is in danger and you need to come with me. Soon would be great, now would be better."

Amanda instantly paled when the full implication of his words hit her. "Wha-What happened to my family? Are-"

Aries abruptly stood up and grabbed her arms. "Shut up. I'm not going to waste my time here as you look like a stupid fish. We are leaving. Now." He said in a tone that brooked no arguments.

He more or less hauled protesting Amanda to her feet and proceeded to drag her amidst the shocked gazes of Salem students. She tried to tug her arm away from him but he held her in iron-hard grip and his eyes flickered toward her with irritation.

"Your family is safe." Aries hissed curtly to stop her from resisting too much. This was just getting more troublesome than he thought. "I intercepted the assassins. Your family lived but other guys didn't. I'm here to rescue you."

Her grey eyes widened and her face paled at the information. "A-Assassins?"

He growled and spun her around to face him, as his eyes glowed eerily with anger and frustration.

"You stupid little girl, do you ever listen? Stop asking so many stupid questions and shut up! If you don't, I'll reconsider my offer to help and kill you myself!" He hissed at her and Amanda flinched away from him in fear.

He glared at her before spinning around to lead her out of the cafeteria. Before he could make it to the door, he stiffened and narrowed his eyes toward the exit where two man, wearing brown robes, walked in. They were nothing really special with brown hairs and average faces.

But Aries, with his telepathic ability, could sense cold determination from them like the ones he felt from those who attacked Carpenters back in Chicago. His hand discreetly wandered to the pistol strapped onto his hip and placed his body in front of Amanda, shielding he from them.

"Hey, do you know where Amanda Carpenter is?" The man on the left asked casually with polite smile on his face. However, his smile faded as his eyes suddenly widened when he looked at him.

"He's like our master." The other man muttered as his face paled.

"The renegade!" The first man hissed angrily and brought out his wand. "Kill-"

That was more than enough for him. In a blink of an eye, Aries whipped out his pistol and shot the one on the left. The loud crack of gunfire enveloped the cafeteria as the man's head snapped back from the force of impact and his head exploded in shower of blood, brain, and bits of skull.

Without even hesitating, he lashed out with his other hand and batted the wand of other wizard away from them. A sickly looking, green beam erupted from the wand and shot toward one of the table, which exploded in shower of wood and stone. The pandemonium erupted in the cafeteria as students screamed out in fear and scrambled past one another for safety. However, the only exit was currently blocked by two battling wizards.

Amanda watched with wide and terrified eyes as she saw Aries whip out his pistol and shoot one of the man in a blink of an eye. She had immediately dove to the floor and instinctively covered her head.

After batting away the man's wand, Aries elbowed the man in his face and heard the satisfying crack of broken nose. The man yelled out in pain and stumbled back as his hand rose to clutched his now bloodied face. Aries smiled coldly at the man before bringing his pistol and placing it under the man's chin.

"Sayonara." He sneered at him before pulling the trigger. The man's head exploded like his partner's and Aries didn't even flinch from the shower of blood that now coated him. He casually brushed aside bits of skull from his clothes and pulled up terrified looking Amanda from her position on the ground.

"Those were the assassins. We need to go, now." He said in a cold voice as he once again briskly marched away from the cafeteria while dragging the almost catatonic girl behind him.

_'I kill few assassins in front of her and she's already this shocked. What a weakling.'_ He mentally scoffed as they walked out of the building.

As soon as they were clear from the anti-apparation ward, Aries grabbed Amanda by her waist before he felt the very unpleasant sensation of being squeezed into a narrow tube as they both disappeared with a crack.

.oOo.

They both appeared back in his apartment in Chicage and Amanda immediately fell to the ground, panting heavily. He couldn't see her face due to her long, blonde hair covering her face and scowled when she brought up her hands to cover her mouth.

"You better not puke all over my carpet!" He hissed dangerously. "The bathroom is that way if you want to throw up."

Amanda didn't even bother replying as she unsteadily got up to her feet and staggered toward the bathroom. Soon enough, he could hear the sound of puking guts and running water. Aries snorted and his lips curled in an amused smile as he heard the sound of her distress.

_'It must have been because of her shock and the feeling of apparation.'_ Meciel said mildly as Aries plopped down on his comfortable couch.

_'I acted much better she did when I made my first kill.'_ He snorted with disdain. _'And I was only a kid back then.'_

After few minutes, Amanda came out of the bathroom and her skin was still pale. "Feeling better?" Aries asked her lazily from the sofa.

Amanda nodded demurely. "How-How could you just kill them like that?" She asked quietly.

"It's pretty easy. It's like squashing an annoying insect." He replied back easily, feeling utterly unrepentant about the act of killing.

Amanda flinched from his blunt answer and shook her head. "Weren't they people as well?"

"Are you telling me that you are feeling sorry for them?" Aries asked her harshly. "In case you have forgotten, they work for the Order of Blackened Denarius. They would've tortured and killed you if they had gotten you first."

Amanda swallowed heavily and took deep calming breaths to steady herself. Aries quirked an eyebrow at her fortitude, perhaps there was a hope for the girl if she can calm herself despite what she witnessed only few minutes ago.

"What are we going to do now?" She asked, changing the topic to less morbid subject.

"Where is your sister?" Aries asked in return as he scrutinized the blonde girl.

"She left for England a week ago. I think the name of the school was Hogwarts or something like that." Said Amanda as she squirmed slightly under his scrutiny. It felt as if she was a tiny bug under a microscope.

Aries stiffened. Molly Carpenter is at Hogwarts? Aries sat still as his thoughts began to race as he furiously thought to make sense of the situation. Charity said that there was some kind of magical tournament being held by different magical schools and Salem and Hogwarts were involved. Then, there was that blasted magical contract which was also in Hogwarts.

_'Something is up. It's too unlikely to be a coincidence that I was bound in a magical contract when inter-school tournament is happening.'_ Aries deduced silently.

_'I also believe that these events are all connected somehow.'_ Meciel whispered quietly to him, her soft voice soothing away his anxiety and frustration. _'We are missing few things. We need to find more clues and facts to draw the connections between them.'_

_'And what of Dresden?'_ Aries asked as he thought of the maverick wizard. _'He would definitely be useful to us if we can bring him along.'_

_'He would certainly be useful. We could definitely use his skills and he __**is**__ a detective. '_ Meciel mused. _'However, we don't have the luxury of the time to wait for his business with the White Council to be finished. The sooner we can get out of the magical contract the better.'_

Aries was silent as he planned his course of action. Dresden would need to be informed of the situation as soon as possible, but as of right now, he would need to investigate it himself. With his decision made, Aries rose to his feet and extended his hand toward Amanda, who stared blankly at it.

"Grab on. We are going to England, we still need to get your sister and there is something I need to investigate." Aries said impatiently.

Amanda Carpenter hesitantly grabbed onto his hand and squeaked in surprise as their surrounding blurred before they felt the uncomfortable sensation of being squeezed into a tube. With a loud crack, the Denarian and Amanda Carpenter disappeared.

* * *

**Sorry for the disappointment for those who immediately wanted to see Aries (Harry) go charging into Hogwarts with Hellfire blazing (I promise it will happen eventually). I wanted to describe how Harry is more cautious and sly in this story compared to the Cannon and possess calculating personality (He did grow up in the streets after all with a Fallen Angel to guide and influence him).**

**Look out for the next chapter, it will be the drama.**


	12. The Prodigal Son Returns

**Announcement****: my college will be starting soon so the updates will unfortunately slow down. I will probably update once every two weeks or so.**

* * *

The Prodigal Son Returns

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stood gloriously upon the shore of the Black Lake as the stone castle rose proudly to the heaven above. The lake sparkled like diamond as the sunlight reflected upon it and the Forbidden Forest had the mystical atmosphere as the trees swayed from the gentle breeze. Up from the castle, one could see the distant mountains and a small town of Hogsmeade laid on the just outskirt of the castle.

Near the edge of the small, magical town, a glade surrounded the trees, there seemed to be a distortion of space in the air and with a crack, two figures appeared out of nowhere before falling to the ground in a tangled heap. The figures laid on the ground as they tried to shake off the feeling of drowsiness and disorientation and sat up with a groan.

Aries brought his hand up and rubbed his forehead in an effort to soothe his headache. Almost immediately, he could feel something soft lying on top of him and focused his blurred vision and smelled a scent of pine tree and mango. He could see the mop of blonde hair and blinked his eyes in confusion before he realized that the something soft on top of him was in fact, Amanda Carpenter. Scowling, he tried to push her off of him and his hand landed on something large and soft, it almost felt like squeeshy melon or a plushy. He instinctively gave a small squeeze and heard a soft moan.

Amanda Carpenter groaned as she tried to sit up from the after-effect of apparation. It was perhaps one of the most dizzying and unpleasant means of travel she experienced as she felt her head swim in disorientation. It took a moment to become aware of her surroundings and the first thing she realized was that she was lying on top of something hard, it wasn't uncomfortable and rather warm. It felt rather comfortable and she instinctively snuggled into it as it reminded her of a pillow. Then suddenly she felt a hand push her back and let out a soft moan when the hand landed on her chest and squeezed her breast. With her head still swimming and her vision blurred, Amanda sat up while blinking her eyes as wild spots of colors flickered in and out of her sight.

As her vision cleared, she became more aware of her surroundings and looked down when she heard a groan coming from beneath her. When her eyes cleared, the first thing she was pools of deepest emerald she had ever seen. They were very bright and the deeper she looked into it, she could see the swirling power within it and a hint of dancing darkness. Then she realized the pools of emerald was in fact, eyes of the person. Then came the wide, almond shaped eyes followed by a tangle of messy black hair and heart-shaped face of Aries Angelos. She blinked in confusion as her storm-grey eyes met the piercing, emerald eyes of Aries Angelos.

Aries felt his eyebrows furrow in confusion as he stared into the storm-grey eyes of the blonde. He blinked once more and saw her features coming into view, her small, upturned nose, pouty pink lips and dirty blonde hair. He still felt something soft in his hand and looked down from her face and realized that the soft mound he had squeezed was, in fact, her breast and that she was laying a top of him by straddling his hips.

For a moment, Aries and Amanda stared at each other before the reality of the situation struck them. With a loud "eep!", Amanda Carpenter leaped off from the boy she had been straddling and fell backward as her arms immediately came up to hug her chest while Aries Angelos scooted back with a loud curse.

Amanda felt her cheeks flare with heat as she blushed furiously from embarrassment. She had been straddling him and he squeezed her breast! She felt so embarrassed that she almost felt faint. Looking up, she saw Aries had scooted further away from her and was shaking his head in confusion.

Aries almost felt like cursing himself for his stupidity. How in the world had he not realized that the girl was lying on top of him? Inattentiveness like this would surely get him killed. Then there was the fact that she was straddling him and that he had squeezed her breast, which felt rather big and very soft. He shook his head to clear the thoughts.

"You pervert!" Amanda yelled at him as he pulled himself up.

"Shut up! I didn't do it intentionally!" Aries snapped back at her as he glared at the girl.

"You squeezed my breast!" Amanda yelled back at him as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"I was trying to push you off! In case you have forgotten, you were straddling me!" He scowled at her with irritation.

Amanda felt her face heat up like a tomato as she remembered her earlier position, not to mention how she snuggled into his chest. His chest felt so warm and comfortable that she ended up doing it with almost subconsciously. At that moment she felt so safe, so protected that she didn't even know what she was doing until it was too late. His scent was just too addictive, he smelled of the rain, the ozone and the darkness. She didn't know how it was possible to smell like that but that was the best she could describe his scent. It was utterly intoxicating and masculine that she felt her body heat up for a moment.

However, she refused to back down and glared right back at him. "You still touched my chest!" She shouted at the Denarian Renegade who looked utterly unrepentant.

"Whatever. I didn't do it intentionally." He snorted as he rolled his eyes. "Get over it!"

Grumbling to herself, Amanda picked herself up. Aries stared critically at her, the memory of the last few moments still fresh in his mind. As much as he hated to admit it, the brat looked quite beautiful, for a mortal anyway. She certainly had inherited her mother's good looks judging by her features and had grown rather nicely from the feel of her breast. The last time he had seen her was nearly 3 years ago on a brief visit to Carpenter home along with Dresden and he hadn't paid any particular attention to anyone. At the Salem Institute, he was far too annoyed to look at her more closely and had to deal with those lousy assassins. Now that he had time, he realized that Amanda had grown from the little girl he had seen when he first met her into a attractive, developing, young woman.

Aries immediately frowned and shook his head to clear the thoughts. Where had those thoughts come from? He had better things to do.

Meciel, who had been silent up until now, let out a soft, tinkling laughter as she finally succumbed to the laughter.

_'My my, wasn't that interesting?' _Meciel sniggered as Aries scowled at her laughter. _'The first thing you do after apparating is squeezing the breast of the defenseless and unconscious girl.'_

_'How low you have fallen. I'm so proud.'_ Meciel laughed at his ever-worsening mood.

"Shut up Meciel!" He snapped in annoyance. Damn Meciel and her annoying habit of laughing at his embarrassment!

_'I always knew you were a pervert.'_ Meciel giggled as Aries felt the distinctive part of his brain where she resided pulse with warmth and amusement. _'Once a pervert, always a pervert!'_

He growled and gritted his teeth while Amanda looked at him curiously. It was a familiar habit of his that she had gotten used to during the occasional time when they met.

"What's she saying?" She asked as he silently fumed while his eyes burned with pure irritation.

"Meciel is being a douche and not exactly helping me." He spat out sourly as his eyes began to twitch.

"Well, looks like the Fallen and I are in agreement for once." She smiled at him but quickly backed away when he glared murderously at her.

Without another word, he stalked away from the clearing they had appeared. The woods were thick and reached out to the sky with impressive heights, casting shadow the ground below. Aries navigated his way through the ground littered with leaves, twigs and fallen trunks expertly as he heard the girl follow him and soon came out of the woods. He could see small grasses as they left the dark woods and heard Amanda gasp behind him. Glancing back, he saw the girl seemed fixated on something with look of awe and wonder. Following her gaze, he couldn't help but to widen his eyes in surprise and felt his eyebrows travel upward.

A large castle loomed in at the distance with its towers as it sat by the lake. He could see the roof tiles were navy blue in color and radiated sense of majesty and wonder. He was rather impressed as he stared at the stone castle.

_'So that's Hogwarts. It's rather awe inspiring isn't it? I wonder how it looks at night.' _Meciel murmured.

Aries nodded blankly in agreement before remembering the reason for coming here. The sooner he got this over with, the better off he will be.

"C'mon, we still have to find your sister." He grunted as he snapped her out of her reverie.

Without another word, he turned and walked toward the castle in casual, sedate pace. The leaves rustled beneath his boots as they walked on the dirt road toward the castle and he could feel the cheerfulness and exuberance from the blonde girl following behind him. Despite the fact that assassins could be following behind them, Amanda was back to her usual bubbly self.

_'Where does this girl get her exuberance from?' _Thought Aries as he shook his head the wide-eyed wonder the girl showed.

_'I wonder if she would still smile even at the face of death.'_ He thought with morbid interest.

"What are you thinking about?" Amanda asked the Denarian as she spied him ponder something with a thoughtful look on his face.

Aries narrowed his eyes in annoyance before letting out an amused smirk. _'I should probably voice my thoughts.' _He thought evilly as his eyes let out a devious gleam while Meciel sighed with exasperation.

"Oh nothing." He answered with a cheerful smile. "Just wondering how you can be so cheerful all the time. I was just thinking if you would smile even till the point of your death as you die from an assassin or from the sweet torture of Nicodemus." He grinned at her and watched with satisfaction as Amanda's smile faltered and shivered slightly.

As she stuttered for a response, Aries kept walking forward with satisfied smile on his face.

.oOo.

After few minutes of walking, they came upon the large, iron gates of the ancient castle. There were thick wall of stone that blocked the castle from edge of the large forest and to the edge of the glimmering lake. With his sharp eyes, Aries spotted various hidden runes etched onto the gate as it flowed and mixed almost naturally with decorations.

Aries felt his lips tug downward in a frown as he stopped just beyond the large bridge while carefully extending his senses outward to observe the castle. He vaguely noticed Amanda stopping a step behind him as he closed his eyes in concentration. His mental probe felt a powerful hum of magic that seemed to surround the entire castle. It was barely noticeable at first, even with Meciel's help, but travelling further he could sense the distinctive feeling of wand-magic. He could sense that there were numerous layers of magic that were all interwoven with each other and quite ancient as well as being far more powerful than any wand-magic he encountered.

_'Interesting. I can tell that these wards placed around the castle are quite old. I would guess to be around few thousand years old.'_ Meciel murmured as she shifted in his mind. Her eons of knowledge and experience allowing her to sense and observe the ward with expertise. _'These wards grow stronger the time passes on and even Maeve would hard time ripping them down.'_

"Aries?" Amanda asked with slight trepidation as she observed him just standing there silently. "What's wrong?"

"The wards start from the bridge." He said while looking at the gates with caution. "I don't know if it will be harmful or not."

He frowned and bit his lower lips as he observed more. "The wards are all interwoven that to take one down, you have to bring down the entire thing down at once." Said Aries as he silently discussed with Meciel.

Amanda frowned and looked at the castle with more wariness than before as she waved her wand and murmured few spells. Aries shook his head, it would be impossible for her or most wand-wizard to do what he is capable of.

"Meciel? Got any ideas?" Aries asked as looked at the castle with wariness.

_'The wards are far too powerful and complex. Whoever made the wards knew what they were doing.'_ Meciel said, her soft voice thoughtful as she observed the ward.

_'I'm not sure if they will not harm you if you cross them.'_ She said as wariness entered her voice. _'Because of my presence, you are no longer a human but a Denarian. You radiate darkness and the power of Hell that wards might detect as a threat.'_

Aries sighed as he opened his eyes again. "I don't see a way in." He grumbled.

"We are looking to get your sister, not invade this place. Might as well check where she is." He said sourly as he glared at the castle.

Aries took out his wand from its holster strapped onto his forearm and muttered the spell. "Point me to Molly Carpenter."

The wand rose to the air from his open palm and began to spin like a compass as it sought out Molly Carpenter's magical signature. Then suddenly, the wand pointed _away_ from the castle looming in front of them and to the direction where they had originally apparated. Molly Carpenter was not inside the castle! This might be their one chance to get to her!

"Your sister is not in the castle!" Aries exclaimed excitedly. "C'mon we better get her before she goes back in!"

Before Amanda could say anything, Aries grabbed her arm and apparated to where his wand sensed Molly Carpenter. With a crack, they appeared once more and Amanda let out a startled squeak and stumbled onto Aries, who let out an amused smile when she blushed and stuttered out an apology from embarrassment.

"You really suck at apparating." Aries sniggered at Amanda as she flushed before letting out an annoyed huff.

Turning his attention away from the blonde girl, Aries closely scrutinized the surroundings. The cottages and shops were lined up next to each other and looked like the villages often depicted in Christmas cards without the snow. The street was busy with people as students from 4 schools explored the village with wide-eyed wonder. They were currently standing in front of a shop named the Three Broomsticks and could see that many people were going in and out of the shop and some of them gave a curious look at Aries, especially the Judgement strapped onto his back.

Holding up his hand, his wand pointed straight at the shop. "Looks like your sister is inside this shop." Aries commented as he tucked away his wand. "Let's go get her."

Opening the wooden door, Aries stepped inside the shop followed by Amanda. The shop, as it turned out, was in fact an inn and pub with warm atmosphere and somewhat crowded and a bit smoky. It was still clean and had welcoming feel to it.

The patrons sat here and there and chattered cheerfully with each other and the sound of laughter hung in the inn. Butterbeer and Firewhiskey were served in glasses by a busty looking woman with pretty face and blonde hair, judging by the people's body language she seemed well-liked and quite popular around here.

Ignoring the chattering students, Aries looked around the bar for any sign of Molly Carpenter. Amanda tugged on his arm as she pointed at a particularly large table filled with crimson-robed students of Salem Institute. There amongst the boys and girls, was the slender figure of Molly Carpenter as she talked and laughed with her students. Aries could practically tell that she was very popular by the way she interacted with her students and the looks of adoration and longing from those around her.

Although she was seated, he could tell that she had inherited the slender body of her mother as well as her pretty face and blonde hair. Perhaps the brat would look like her in few years, Aries idly mused.

Amanda quickly made her way over to her followed closely by Aries who stood few paces behind her.

"Molly." Amanda called out when she was an arm's length away from her older sister.

Molly Carpenter looked startled as she beheld the sight of her younger sister. Her eyes went wide and she had a stunned look on her face at the unexpected sight.

"Amanda?" Molly said in disbelief as she dropped the Butterbeer she was drinking on the table while the Salem students looked at her with surprise. She was well-known as the younger sister of Professor Carpenter who was quite popular thanks to her looks and intelligence. "What are you doing here? You are supposed to be back at Salem."

Amanda ducked her head in shy embarrassment from the looks she was getting from the older students and leaned in to whisper at her sister. "It's about daddy's night job. There has been a family emergency and you have to come with me right now." She muttered quietly.

Molly felt her blood drain from her face as she paled. A family emergency? And her dad's job as the Knight of Cross? This couldn't be good at all.

"Is there a place where we can talk privately?" Amanda asked in a low voice.

Molly nodded quickly and called over the barmaid that had been attending customers. "Madam Rosmerta. Can we use one of your rooms upstairs? I need to talk with my sister." Molly said quickly.

"Of course. Feel free to use them." The pretty blonde barmaid replied back as she served several more glasses of Butterbeers to the Salem students.

Molly stood up with her eyes blazing with emotions and was about to grab her sister and drag her upstairs when she noticed another familiar figure standing just slightly behind Amanda.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Molly hissed in equal amount of wariness and surprise.

"He's the reason why I came here. He's with me." Amanda quickly consoled her sister before the Denarian could give her a scathing reply that would no doubt set off another argument.

Molly Carpenter didn't say anything and gave a curt nod before she led her sister upstairs followed by Aries. There were several rooms with a hallway that two people could walk side by side and they quickly found an empty room before Molly locked the door with an audible click. Aries took out his wand and waved it languidly at the door as he set up silencing ward to ensure their conversation remained private.

"What is this about?" Molly asked her sister in brisk pace as her face tightened with worry. "Explain."

Amanda opened her mouth to explain but Aries cut across her. "To put it bluntly, your family is being targeted by the Order of Blackened Denarius."

Molly blanched at the mention of blackened order and sat on the chair Amanda pulled out before her legs gave out from the shock.

"Order of Blackened Denarius." Molly muttered as her face lost few more shade of color until it became sickly shade of pasty white. "Explain."

"Well it's not the entire order but Nicodemus is quite pissed off at your old man as well as me." Aries said as he shrugged nonchalantly while Amanda bit her lips with worry.

Molly snapped her head up at the name. While she didn't know much about the Order of Blackened Denarius, she had gained substantial knowledge about the foul organization due to her father's job as the Knight of Cross. From what she knew, Nicodemus was the most powerful of the Denarians and the current leader of the Order.

"Why target us now? Has he found out our house's location?" Molly asked him with slight tremor in her voice.

"He finally found out that your daddy was the one who killed Deirdre, his daughter, all those years ago. I don't know why he got suddenly so angry after nearly 6 years but he swore to kill the Knight's sons and brutalize his daughters before killing him himself." Aries answered as he frowned at the news. "And I'm on the same boat as your dad since I was involved in it."

Amanda let out a gasp at that particular piece of information. Sending out assassins to kill or kidnap her was one thing but torture and rape? Amanda shuddered at the chill that ran through her body and felt a large weight drop on her stomach and sank on to the edge of the bed.

"And what of my family? Are they okay?" Molly asked desperately as her eyes flickered between Amanda and Aries with fear.

"Nicodemus already sent out assassins after your family and Amanda here." Aries answered casually as he leaned on the wall while running his hand through his hair.

"But I was able to intercept the assassins and save them all." Aries said with a cocky grin as Molly sagged with relief. "I saved Amanda here from the assassins that were sent to Salem. Your school seriously needs to work on security seeing as they slipped into school quite easily."

Molly looked at her younger sister with alarm and Amanda silently nodded, confirming her fear.

"The rest of your family is safe at the moment. Your mom and siblings went to church and the priest arranged them to go to a safe-house." Aries continued. "The only thing left to do is for two of you to do the same."

"No, I can't leave." Molly said as she shook her head, ignoring the shocked look of her sister.

"How come?" Asked Aries as his eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "Assassins are coming after you and Nicodemus would very much like to have a lunch date with you over a boiling cup of lead."

"There is a tournament going on right now and I am bound by magical contract." Said Molly as annoyance flickered across her face from his sardonic tone. "I have to supervise it and must stay here."

"Get out of it then!" Aries snapped in irritation. Why is it so damn hard to just rescue these people? Can't they just come along nicely when he's doing them a favor?

"I can't! It's impossible to break a magical contract!" Molly hissed back at him just as fiercely.

"What happens if you break it?" Aries scowled at the stubborn woman. "Is it worse than the torture Nicodemus prepared for you? He did promise to brutalize you in case you have forgotten." He sneered at her while Amanda watched the exchange with wide eyes as her eyes flickered back and forth between Aries and Molly.

"The consequence for breaking a magical contract is that you are stripped of your magic." Molly's eyes flashed with indignation while her lips tugged downward in a grimace. "There is a chance that I may die if my magic is stripped from me."

Aries swore as he ran his hand through his hair. Why is the situation have to be so damned fucked up?

_'You have done everything you could've for them.'_ Meciel whispered at him, soothing away his irritation. _'Molly Carpenter is a lost cause and it wouldn't be our fault if she died. She chose this path herself after all.'_

"Fine." He spat out angrily. "Do whatever you want. You chose this path and I'm not going to bother myself with it."

"I'll wish you the very best luck in your afterlife than." Aries said mockingly. The Denarian looked at Amanda. "Amanda, you better tell Dresden that his girlfriend here signed her own death warrant when she gets herself killed. I will not be held responsible for her stupidity."

He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Then only thing left is for Amanda here to get to the safe house."

"What! No way, I'm staying." Amanda said firmly. Aries snorted at her idiotic decision and shot her an annoyed scowl, she flinched her his glare and looked away but refused to concede. "I'm not missing out on a school year."

"Is schooling more important than your life?" Aries snapped at her.

She seemed to shrink back and bit her lips nervously. "Salem is too dangerous. You saw how the assassins got inside quite easily." Aries sneered.

"I never said I was going back to Salem." Amanda now glared at him. "I'll stay at Hogwarts. I'm sure I can study here as an exchange student for a year at least."

Aries rubbed his forehead before pinching the bridge of the nose as he felt headache coming.

"Fine. It's your life to throw away anyway." Aries said coldly. "If Dresden bitchs about this, it will be his problem, not mine. I've already done more than enough when there was no need to."

Aries turned on his heel and strode over to the door before yanking it open. "Oh and one more thing." He said curtly as he looked back at the Carpenters with icy look. "Don't ever mention it to anyone that I am here."

With the warning, Aries walked out of the room. Molly Carpenter sighed with exhaustion and looked back at her sister warily. "C'mon, let's go back. We should explain the situation to Headmaster Smith and Headmaster Dumbledore."

.oOo.

Benjamin Potter stabbed foully at the roasted chicken as he listened to the banter of his housemates. To say that last 8 days had been chaotic would be an understatement. After that fiasco with the Goblet of Fire incident, his life had literally turned upside down.

First, he and Neville had been utterly humiliated by the Veela when his seduction technique had quite literally backfired on them with spectacular results. Not only were they rejected with a huge blow to their ego, the entire school somehow found out about the incident. He initially thought that the French Champion had opened her mouth but with Hermione's deduction, quickly dismissed the idea. She wasn't the type to go one sprouting it out. Which meant that someone had witnessed how his plan had blown on his face.

He shot a dark glance at the beautiful blonde currently sitting at the Ravenclaw table. How dare she reject him like this! He was the Boy-Who-Lived! A savior of Wizarding World and a hero! He had always gotten everything he wanted, whenever he wanted. Ever since the time when he had first seen the Veelas during the Quidditich World Cup, he had fantasized about having his own personal Veela. Or better yet, his own personal Veela harem.

He couldn't forget the way their skins shone moon-bright or the way their silky, silver-blonde hair fanned out behind them gently. Their slender bodies were something that haunted his dreams regularly with their usual larger-than-average breasts, beautiful looking arses, and long legs. He just couldn't get enough of them, in fact, he regularly jerked off to the image of him having a hot, steamy sex with all those silver-haired goddesses.

So when he realized that there was a Veela amongst the Beauxbaton students, he had immediately seen it as a sign from the fate that he was destined to have a Veela as his girlfriend. After all, as the people's esteemed savior and hero it was natural that he should get the most beautiful woman as his girlfriend. When Neville learned of his plan to seduce the Veela he had decided to the same thing and Benjamin had been irritated but after a while, it did make sense. He was also the Boy-Who-Lived and they did almost everything together, it was only fitting that she chose one of them as her choice.

But no.

The Veela didn't accept their offer. Didn't she understand how lucky she was? Instead of choosing one of them as her boyfriend, she sent stinging hexes at their private parts! She threw their offer back at their face before humiliating them! This was just unacceptable! And now, the entire school knew about them and the bloody Slytherins had all but goaded him and Neville.

And then, there was that issue with being chosen as a champion. He and Neville had secretly gone down to the Great Hall during the nights using his Invisibility Cloak to enter their names in the Goblet of Fire. Yet, each of their attempts were met with failure. Despite all that, they were somehow chosen as the champions, just like they wanted to. The Gryffindors had rejoiced but the rest of the school, on the other hand, thought them as nothing more than attention-seeking glory hounds.

_'Bloody traitors!'_ Benjamin fumed silently. Slytherins were expected, but Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were a surprise. _'How dare they side with those slimy Slytherins!'_

While he and Neville had initially rejoiced, their parents were less than pleased when they had been chosen as champions despite their age, even more so when they learned of their failed attempts. And now, after hearing Professor Moody's theory that someone wanted to kill them, he wasn't so sure if he was all that excited anymore.

And lastly, the news that literally turned his life upside down. The name of the last champion. The name of the person he didn't even knew existed until now.

Aries Potter. His elder brother.

Shocked was not the word he would use to describe the feeling he felt when his parents broke the news that, after all these years, he had an older brother he never knew about. He had always believed that he was the only child and never even his wildest imagination, he thought he had a secret older sibling. But what truly mystified him was that Aries Potter was reported as missing, quite possibly dead.

After entering the trophy room with Neville, Dumbledore, staffs, and their parents barged into the room before taking all of them to the Headmaster's private office. The foreign headmasters had all but demanded to know just how they had been chosen as champions and mystery surrounding the lost Potter heir. The following conversations had done little to answer their questions and left even more questions than they began with.

Benjamin glared balefully at the gray newspaper of the Daily Prophet lying next to one of older Gryffindors. After the event, it had taken mere days before that bitch of a woman, Rita Skeeter, had gotten the wind of the fiasco and printed it all over the newspaper, announcing the shocking turn of events to the public and dragging up skeletons in their closets.

_**The Daily Prophet**_

_**The Tri-Wizard Tournament Fiasco: The Lost Potter Heir Selected As A Champion!**_

_**Boys-Who-Lived Chosen As Champions Despite Their Age!**_

_By Rita Skeeter_

_Just few days ago, the Tri-Wizard Tournament had taken a shocking turn of events even before it began. The tournament is currently taking place in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the first time in nearly 200 years as well as including United Stastes' Salem Institute of Magic for the competition. The champion would be chosen from each school through the magical artifact known as the Goblet of Fire and to the shock of many, the Boys-Who-Lived were chosen despite their age. Benjamin Potter and Neville Longbottom are both currently 14 years old and younger than the required age of 17._

_But the true shock was the last name chosen by the Goblet of Fire. The name chosen was none other than Aries Potter! You guessed it my dear readers, there was another Potter other than Benjamin Potter! According to the Ministry records, Aries Potter is the older brother of Benjamin Potter and for past 8 years, thought to have died. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that Aries Potter was not raised by the Potters but rather given away to muggle relatives of Lily Potter nee Evans. The muggles are reported dead when their house burned down and it was widely speculated that the young Potter heir have also died with them._

_Which raises an important question, is Aries Potter still alive? And why did the Potters not raise their firstborn along with Benjamin Potter?_

_There are currently 7 champions selected by the Goblet including the lost Potter heir._

_For Aries Potter turn to pg. 2_

_For Potters, turn to pg. 3_

With one last glower at the newspaper, Benjamin Potter began to stuff his mouth with food.

.oOo.

Aries Angelos left the Carpenters with a foul mood. Their moronic decision to remain here in the face of danger was just impossible to comprehend. Yet, it was their life to throw away so why should he care?

In a soft flash of light, Meciel materialized next to him as he aimlessly walked down Hogsmeade. She looked as beautiful and prim as she always did in her white and silver gown dress. _'Their lives are of no importance to us. You have already acquire life debts from the Carpenters, including Amanda, when you saved her at the Salem.'_ She said as she soothed his irritation away.

"Hmph. What was the point of saving them again?" Asked Aries as he peered at the former archangel who was walking beside him. "It was a royal pain in the ass just trying to keep them alive."

_'One day, there may come a time when we might need a leverage against the Kights of Cross.'_ Meciel explained with a faraway look on her face. _'It would be very advantageous for us if we can demand a huge favor by calling in the said life debt.'_

"You sure do plan far ahead." He commented as he passed by a gaggle of students.

_'Well somebody have to do the work.'_ Meciel countered dryly. _'Seeing as my host is far too lazy to plan that far ahead.'_

Aries rolled his eyes good-naturedly at the jib. "Touche. By the way, how are we going to get inside the castle? The wards seem to surround the entire castle." He asked her with slight frustration. The wards were far too strong for him take down or bypass and he didn't want to know what kind of backlash it would cause.

Meciel was silent as she pondered the problem. _'I don't know beloved. I can't sense any holes we can exploit but I did sense that the magical pull was originating from inside the castle.' _She said thoughtfully as Aries stopped by a bench near the center of the town and flopped down casually.

"Looks like Cessbulby was correct when she said it would be here." He muttered softly.

_'I would suggest you scan the thoughts of the students and residents living here. It is the only thing I can think of and we might be able to find an information useful to us.' _Meciel advised him as she sat down next to him gracefully before stroking his hair.

Aries closed his eyes and hummed contently as he felt her slender fingers run along his hair and scalp. It was one of few things that really relaxed him. Relaxing his mental barrier, he slowly brought them down and allowed the thoughts and emotions of the people around him to flow into him. He frowned as hundreds of thoughts began to talk at once and had to tone it down so that they only whispered at him.

Excitement. Joy. Wonder. These people seemed to radiate positive emotions and Aries found himself shifting more further into their minds and came up with nothing useful. With a sigh, he stood up from the bench he was sitting on and began to walk around, feeling and reading different minds.

After nearly half an hour of fruitless search, he was about to growl in frustration when he felt Meciel latch onto something.

_'There!'_ She exclaimed excitedly as he felt two foreign minds pulse with excitement. They moved with purpose and Aries delved deeper into their minds.

_'We got the Firewhiskey and all we need to do is to sneak into Hogwarts!'_

_'It's good thing that we know about the secret passage into Hogsmeade.'_

His curiosity piqued and he followed the trail of thoughts with eager anticipation and came upon a twin with bright red hairs and matching expressions. They were walking toward a shop called Honeydukes, which turned out to be a candy shop.

Aries felt Meciel pulse with excitement and felt his lips curl up in a smile when he learned that there was a secret passage between the castle and the basement of the shop!

Fred and George Weasley were their names and Aries couldn't help but to delve deeper into their minds using Telepathy. While it wasn't as focused or effective as Legilimency, Telepathy was far more subtle and didn't require an eye contact, rendering it almost impossible to detect sine the thoughts were _drawn_ into the person rather than launching a mental probe into another's mind.

_'Well what do you know? Looks like we found a way in.'_ Meciel whispered with anticipation which Aries nodded eagerly.

Discreetly casting an disillusionment charm and a silencing charm to hide his footsteps, Aries tailed the red-headed twins as they made their way to the basement of the shop before lifting a well-hidden trapdoor. The twins quickly made their way down the passage before shutting it close. Aries waited about 30 seconds before lifting the trapdoor and entering the passage himself.

It was completely dark without any light and his feet landed on steps that led deeper down the bowls of earth before he encountered cold, damp earth. He squinted his eyes and could see a faint glimmer of light about a hundred yards away. Dashing forward, Aries quickly caught up with the twins but they never noticed his presence due to the disillusionment charm and the silencing charm. It seemed that the passage went for quite a length before leading up to a one-eyed witch statue with a secret password.

He heard one of the twin mutter _"Dissendium"_ and watched as the statue slide open before the two red heads slipped out. Aries discreetly followed them out and nearly brushed them. The statue slid shut and he looked curiously at his surroundings while the Weasley twins went on their way.

_'I believe this is enough for today. We found a way in. For today, we should rest.' _Meciel murmured at him while he gazed around the hallway curiously.

_'Why not investigate right now?'_ He mentally thought back.

_'You spent considerable energy making international apparation. It's better to be at full strength before tackling the problem.'_ Meciel reasoned with him. _'Next time, it would be easier if you made a portkey instead, you waste less energy that way._

_'And you are telling me this now?'_ Aries thought back annoyingly.

_'I was about to tell you but you just grabbed the girl and disappeared.'_ Meciel pointed it out at her host.

_'Well better late than never.'_ Aries grumbled.

After looking around for any stray students, Aries muttered the password and slipped into the passage once more.

.oOo.

Draco Malfoy sat pensively on the comfortable couch in the Slytherin Common Room as he pondered the latest dilemma. Ever since the school started, his mood has been steadily growing fouler and fouler. First, those damnable Gryffindors had antagonized him yet again and there was no way his father could help him at all. Then there was that Veela who refused his advances.

He was a Malfoy! Purest of the pureblood, an elite amongst the magic users! His family was one of the richest family in Britain and she should've been more than grateful that she had caught his attention! And yet, the girl was not even interested and had the balls to stun him in front of the other students! How dare she humiliate him like that!

He had once or twice heard of the Veela's legendary beauty while growing up and had occasionally wondered why. When he had first seen a Veela during the Quidditch World Cup, he realized that the wistful and longing description so many men had used to describe them was indeed correct. They were truly goddesses amongst the women with their soft-looking skin and silk-like slivery blonde hairs, not to mention their incredibly sensuous body.

He had immediately wanted one. He was the scion of Malfoy and he always got whatever he wanted! So when he discovered that there was a Veela amongst the Beauxbaton students, he knew it was a golden chance to take what should be rightfully his. He had acted quickly lest The Golden Trio made their move first and the plan ended up blowing up in his face. His pride was damaged and his ego suffered a heavy blow and the only thing positive was that she also rejected the Golden Trio.

Nursing his wounded pride, he had once again tried to approach Daphne Greengrass and was rebuffed as well when he heard that she had somehow formed a friendship with the French witch.

But all these thoughts were washed aside when the champions were chosen. He wasn't all that surprised that those blasted Boys-Who-Lived were chosen since they were arrogant, glory-seeking hounds. What truly surprised him, however, was the last name that came out.

Aries Potter.

He, like all else, had never even known that there was another Potter child other than Benjamin Potter. He had immediately wrote a letter to his father about the situation and it wasn't long before the Daily Prophet printed out the news. Ever since the humiliation he and his family suffered at the strange kid back during the Quidditich World Cup, his father had been searching for the identity of the attacker. His father had a strong suspicion that their attacker was indeed the missing Potter heir and had instructed him to keep a close watch on the school.

His name had been chosen. He was bound by the magical contract and therefore, there was a possibility that he may reappear once more. Then he would extract his vengeance for what he did to his family.

Malfoy nodded to himself. Yes, he would wait until he reappeared and teach him a lesson for crossing the Malfoys.

"C'mon Draco! It's time for the dinner!" A whiny and nasal voice that grated on his nerves spoke out.

"Pansy," Malfoy growled at the pug-faced girl who annoyed him all the times, "Don't raise your voice, I can hear you perfectly."

Theodore Nott came out of his room with slight yawn. "Let's go. Professor Snape wants us to be there. He would kill us if we are late."

With a grunt, Malfoy stood up to his feet and with the rest of his house, walked out of the Common Room.

.oOo.

Amanda hummed softly to herself as she sat with other students from Salem at the Hufflepuff table. After Aries had walked out angrily, she couldn't help but to feel wary as her sister led her back to the castle. The fact that assassins easily slipped inside the Salem never ceased to send a cold shiver down her spine and she could only hope that they couldn't do the same thing at Hogwarts.

Now, she no longer had Aries around to protect her from the blackened order. While he may not be the most cheerful or pleasant company to be around, he was damn good at his job and provided her the feeling of safety that only her father could give her.

Amanda had been awed when she came inside the castle and before she could look around, Molly had dragged her to see Headmaster Smith and Dumbledore. The Headmaster of Hogwarts was just as ancient as Smith with long, flowing beard, kind features and twinkling blue eyes with grandfatherly persona. Despite being a young witch, Amanda could tell that Albus Dumbledore was indeed one of the most talented wand-wizards ever produced. His office was very fascinating and she was allowed to take classes in Hogwarts for a year.

She met this fascinating magical artifact called the Sorting Hat before the aged headmaster put it on her head. To her shock, the Hat spoke to her as it went through her memories. He gave his word that he was not allowed to share anything found inside a student's mind. The Hat was quite surprised at the information he found in her head: the True-Magic, the Knights of Cross, the Order of Blackened Denarius, the Denarians, and Aries Angelos.

The Hat seemed to give a twitch of surprise at the mention of the young Denarian but it was gone before she could discern it. After skimming over her memories and thoughts, it yelled out in a strong male voice "Gryffindor!"

To ease her transition, Amanda decided to sit with the rest of Salem students in Hufflepuff who recognized the younger Carpenter. To her delight, she found that the Hufflepuffs were rather friendly group of people with outgoing personalities. She met a pretty redhead named Susan Bones and her friend Hannah Abbot who kindly welcomed the Salem transfer students and informed her of the Hogwarts' history.

"May I have your attention please?" a voice rang throughout the hall.

The hum of noise and chatter died away as the old headmaster of Hogwarts stood up with twinkling eyes.

.oOo.

Aries stood leaning against the walls of the Great Hall near the corner where he kept the entire hall in his vision. It had been matter of simplicity itself for him to slip into the castle using that secret passage he found. He had taken extra precaution and used complex disillusionment charm just in case as well as silencing charm. Extending his senses, he could feel the small but irritating tug of the magical contract that he had ignored for nearly a week and with Meciel's help, tracked it down to a large looking hall where hundreds of students were gathered.

He was dressed in his usual black clothes he wore to Salem and this time, his face was covered by a hood he added to his trench coat, not that the people could see him.

The aroma of food filled his nose as soon as he stepped into the hall and Aries was glad that he already ate dinner, otherwise, he would've not been able to stand leaning on the wall as he hid from the others.

There were 4 large tables sitting on the hall with different banners. The table closest to him, situated on the very right, had the banner of a silver serpent with green background. The table next to it had the banner of a bronze eagle with blue background. Next over, it was a table with black badger and yellow background. The last table was of a golden lion with red background.

Stretching perpendicularly to the four tables and situated on the higher pedestal was what he guessed to be the staff table.

_'I found it Aries.'_ Meciel's voice whispered in his mind. _'It's that cup with fire.'_

In the middle of the hall, slightly near the staff table stood a large goblet with bluish white flame. The flame flickered and danced and Aries could see various runes etched onto the Goblet and felt the familiar pull he has been experiencing.

_'What the hell is that?'_ Aries asked mentally as he narrowed his eyes. Finally he had found the blasted object that bound him unwillingly.

Meciel shifted in his head as she focused intently on the Goblet. _'I'm not sure beloved but I can tell that whatever it is, it's very powerful. That thing is practically radiating magic.'_

Aries closed his eyes before opening them slowly with his Third Sight and immediately cringed from the intense brightness. He squinted his eyes painfully before opening them slowly as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. The magic was so concentrated here that he could practically feel it as his senses extended outward, the very air seemed to hum with power and he couldn't help but to gasp slightly in surprise.

This was even more spectacular than the sight he witnessed at the Quidditch Stadium. The magic radiated from each and every person in the hall and even the very stones of the castle emitted it.

_'The castle... it's almost as if it's alive.'_ Meciel whispered in wonder. _'It's may not be as conscious like the rest of us but I can tell that it's sentient.'_

_'A sentient castle? How the hell is that possible?' _Aries asked with slight alarm as he warily looked at the stones around him. It felt as if he was inside the belly of a beast and it wasn't exactly the most comforting thought.

_'I'm not sure. It seems as if it's fueled by the magic of the students. It's absorbing any excess magic and emitting it all around us.'_ Meciel said with thoughtful concentration. _'It's fascinating. The wards seemed to be fueled by the very inhabitants themselves.'_

_'Well that's great but can we get back to our little problem? I can see the tendrils linking me to that damned cup.'_ Aries grumbled as he focused his attention once more on the flaming cup.

The goblet was even more impressive sight with his Third Sight. The very woods radiated such concentrated magic that he was surprised that it didn't explode seeing the amount of magic gathered within the cup. The fire was something else entirely. It was the physical manifestation of the magic goblet had acquired over the centuries and Aries could tell that the cup was very old indeed.

He saw the past, present, and future all within the very cup as the ghostly images of the trees danced in the background and the wood looked as if it was shifting and moving by itself. He was quite unnerved when he saw the faces of all those who had entered into a magical contract with it. There were literally hundreds of them and their faces were twisted in agony when the goblet ripped their very magic away from their dying body when they failed at whatever they were required to do.

_'The goblet leeched the magic from those who entered into a contract with it.' _Meciel spoke to him in a solemn voice and Aries felt his lips tug downward in a grimace and scowl. Who and how the fuck had he gotten into a fucking magical contract with this damnable goblet? The idea of his magic being stolen from him by a mere piece of wood infuriated him.

Hellfire rushed through his veins and the scent of sulphur filled his noise as rage struggled to break free from within him. Gritting his teeth, Aries pushed the anger down with steel-hard self control.

_'The goblet will be destroyed. I'll be damned if I'm going to let that piece of shit take what's rightfully mine!'_ Aries snarled mentally. _'And whoever did this will be begging for death when I'm done with him!'_

Amongst its aura of energy, he could see a thin trail magic connecting him to the goblet as well as six more. Following one of the tendrils from the goblet, he saw a tall boy with thick eyebrows and curved nose sitting on the green and silver table as while he brooded over something. He had crisp, crimson robes that looked like a military uniform and Aries could tell that his magical core was more larger than those around him.

_'I recognize his features, he was one of the Qudditich players in the World Cup.' _Meciel murmured at him.

Aries quirked his eyebrow at that particular piece of information. _'A Quidditich player? I never thought that celebrity was still at school.'_

Turning his attention back to the goblet, he followed another trail followed closely by one more and found two boys who looked slightly older than him. They were both sitting at yellow and black table and Aries soon identified one of them as a Salem student by his familiar crimson robe he saw back in America. The other was a handsome looking boy with black robes with the crest of black badger with yellow background. They too, had larger cores than those around them.

While looking through the length of the yellow and black table, Aries blinked in surprise when he saw Amanda Carpenter sitting at the table. She was currently talking animatedly with a pretty redhead and a blonde girl who seemed to be her friend.

_'Looks like she enrolled here like she wanted to.'_ Aries snorted with derision. _'What an idiot. Going to school with assassins coming after her.'_

Meciel chuckled at his train of thought as she pulsed with amusement. _'She does seem to lack a brain doesn't she?'_

Following another tendril, Aries came upon an unusual sight. It was a girl with soft, silk robes that were sky blue color and she was _very_ beautiful. She had silvery-blonde hair and deep, sapphire eyes and slender figure with curves in the all the right places.

_'A...Veela?'_ Aries thought with fascination as he blinked in surprise.

It was true. He could see the familiar soft, golden aura that radiated from their very being. The golden light bathed the girl and those around her and Aries could see the usual slack-jawed and glazed expression of those under the Allure. He could see something bird-like within the pretty girl along with liquid fire that swirled around her. It seemed that her Veela side and Lustfire were struggling to break out of the girl judging by how restless they looked.

Anger, frustration, and irritation all clung to the girl and he could see that she was trying to repress them from growing out of her control.

_'This girl is quite skilled.'_ Meciel whispered after a moment as she closely observed the silver-haired beauty. _'Her Lustfire is far more developed than the Veelas we saw back at the World Cup and she has great control over them.'_

_'I never thought that I would see a Veela here of all the places.'_ Aries thought amusedly. _'And her magical core is larger than others.'_

With an amused smirk, Aries turned his attention to the last two tendrils of magic. They were located close together, in fact, right next to each other as he came upon two boys sitting next to each other in the red and gold table.

One of them had a mousy brown hair and brown eyes as he stuffed his mouth with steak and mashed potatoes. There was nothing particular about him as his magical core with mediocre, if not, only slightly larger than others.

The other one, on the other hand, had dark red hair with brown high lights that looked dark brown from afar. He wore thickly framed glasses and Aries could see that he had hazel eyes behind the lenses.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in surprise before he pushed away from the wall he was casually leaning on. Aries narrowed his eyes as he looked more closely at the last boy. Discounting, the baby fat on his faces and the glasses, they almost looked exactly alike. They both had messy hair and small upturned nose while his face was more heart-shaped, the boy's face was more round and pudgy due to the baby fat.

Aries stood stock still as he looked intently at the boy whom shared similar feature with him.

Sitting merely few yards away from him was his biological brother.

Benjamin Potter.

His younger brother.

_'But that would mean...'_

Aries quickly turned his gaze and scanned the staff table. Before long, he found what he was looking for. There, seated between a stern looking witch and a short, jovial looking wizard were a man and a woman. He was a handsome man, he had the same messy, black hair like him and hazel eyes that twinkled with mischief behind the thick glasses as he spoke with the stern looking witch.

But it was the woman who truly caught his attention. She was quite beautiful with the dark red hair that reached past her shoulders and same heart-shaped face as him. But it was her eyes that truly stood out, they were just like his.

_'Eyes just like mine...'_

They were the same almond shaped eyes with intense emerald color, but whereas the woman's eyes forest green and sparkled with life, his eyes were much darker in shade and glowed ominously.

Aries swallowed his now dry throat as he stared intensely at the man and woman who looked very much like him.

Sitting at the staff table across the hall were his parents.

James and Lily Potter.

His biological father and mother.

Back when he was young and stayed with the Dursleys, he had always wondered how his parents looked like and dreamed of meeting them. Now, nearly 14 years later since he was left with those thrice damned Dursleys, Aries finally saw them again.

He stood stock still as he processed the information. Different emotions warred within him while his hands twitched occasionally. In his haste and concentration of tracking down the reason why he was bound by a magical contract, he had nearly forgotten about the fact that he might see his family once more.

All these thoughts and emotions warring inside him vanished as a vast, powerful, and serene presence that was decidedly feminine filled his mind and washed them away.

Meciel.

_'Aries.'_ Meciel whispered his name.

She only spoke one word. And one word conveyed all the support, comfort and peace to him.

_'It's alright Meciel.'_ Aries thought back quietly as he brought himself back. _'I was just surprised.'_

As he stared intensely at his biological family, Aries felt the warring thoughts and emotions vanish and replaced by something else.

Fury. Hatred. Bitterness.

Here were the reason why he was sent to the Dursleys. The reason why he was enslaved by those filthy vermin and abused like a pathetic slave before being freed by Meciel. He was no longer the naive and stupid, little boy he once was. He had broken the chains placed on him by them and the God and rose to become the powerful Denarian he was now.

The hellfire roared as it consumed him and the scent of sulphur filled his nostrils as the intoxicating dark power filled him with rage.

No. They were not his family. They gave up that right when they abandoned him to those disgusting Dursleys. Meciel was his only family along with Nightfang. He needed no one else.

_'You are all I need Meciel.'_ Aries thought with deadly calm. _'You guided me every step of the way. This changes nothing.'_

Meciel said nothing but he felt her pulse with warmth as he felt her embrace him from behind. Peace settled in his mind and he felt the dark power fade away as he closed his eyes while Meciel soothingly ran her slender hand through his messy hair.

_'My beloved Aries.' _Meciel said softly, her voice reminding him soft chimes and water falling on diamond. _'I am always with you.'_

He felt his lips quirk upward in a ghost of a smile when she kissed him lightly on his cheek.

"May I have your attention please?" A voice rang throughout the hall as the ancient looking wizard with long silver beard and twinkling blue eyes rose up from his throne-like chair.

"I would like all students to stand up and move to this side of the hall where the staff table is." The old wizard called out.

There was a general confusion in the atmosphere as the food vanished while students stood up looking at the old man with curiosity and confusion. Nonetheless, they stood up and began to move toward the staff table while the house tables disappeared.

_'What are they doing?'_ Aries wondered as he narrowed his eyes at the old man while deactivating the Third Sight.

Soon, the students had all moved to where the staff table was and looked as if they were packed closely together, leaving nearly three-forth of the hall empty while the Goblet of Fire continued to burn brightly. With the flick of his wand, the Goblet and its table were lifted onto the air and placed on the front of the staff table.

The ancient looking wizard strode forward calmly while the rest of the staff and students looked at him with confusion and before they could even blink, he whipped out his wand from his robes and shot three red beams at where Aries had been standing.

Aries was almost caught by the surprise at the unexpected attack but ducked as first spell came at his face before pivoting to dodge the second one and rolled out of the way for the final one. The old man was fast, much faster than he could expect from a man his age, but he was faster.

_'What the hell!'_ Aries exclaimed mentally. _'How the hell did he notice us?'_

The old man frowned momentarily before casting out series of complex spells at the invisible intruder. Aries was surprised and impressed by the old man, he knew what he was doing and he could clearly tell that this man had decades of experience and not to be taken lightly.

_'Be careful beloved.'_ Meciel hissed warily as hellfire rushed through him. _'He is very powerful, even for you.'_

Aries couldn't help but to grimace as he did a back flip to dodge a blasting spell and jumped away several feet as more deadly spells rained down on the spot he landed a moment ago. He had briefly looked at the magical cores of those sitting on the staff table and to his small surprise, found that these wand-users were much more powerful than the usual wand-users he had encountered in the past. And amongst them, this old man was the most powerful seeing as his magical core dwarfed everyone else's. It was almost like looking at a small sun compared others.

Aries didn't bother using his wands to conjure up shields as he docked, pivoted, jumped, and rolled out of the way from the ancient wizard who was somehow able to detect him. He didn't use shield spells as often and relied on his enhanced speed, Telepathic ability, and movement as his defense. After battling enemies with destructive power, Aries quickly learned that it was better to dodge an attack rather than use spell to block the attack since the attacks were too powerful most of the times and required lots of energy to block.

"Albus! What's the meaning of this!" A stern looking witch from the staff table yelled out as she watched the old headmaster shoot series of complex spells at seemingly nothing. The students and staffs alike watched with confusion, fear and awe at the display of power the ancient wizard displayed while craters and chunks of rocks formed in the hall.

"No! Stay where you are Minerva!" Albus Dumbledore's voice rang throughout the hall as the stern looking witch tried to step forth. "Protect the students!"

Before the witch could ask, Dumbledore turned his attention back to the empty looking hall filled with debris and craters.

"I know you are there intruder." He called out much to the shock of those in the hall. "They may not be able to see you but I can sense you."

.oOo.

Albus Dumbledore frowned as he carefully extended his senses outward. Ever since the beginning of the feast, he had been feeling something strange. At first, he dismissed it as nothing particular as whatever he felt was extremely brief and faint but as time went on, he felt a spike of something that should not have been here. Whatever it was, it was an ominous aura and he felt a cold chill run down his spine when he realized that it was inside the Great Hall.

_'No. There are students in here and I cannot allow them to be hurt.'_ He thought quickly. _'Getting them out of here is too much of a risk. I must isolate them.'_

Then he felt it again. This time, it was much stronger than before. His senses tingled as he felt something dark. Something powerful. Something ancient.

It was tinged with rage, hatred, and bitterness.

Thinking quickly, he stood up and called out to the hall. "May I have your attention please?"

"I would like all students to stand up and move to this side of the hall where the staff table is." He called out with fake cheerful voice.

As expected, there were general confusion among the students and the staff alike but they moved as he instructed and he carefully moved the Goblet to where the staff table was. With everyone secure, he strode forward and with a speed that belied his age, shot three spells at the corner of the hall where he felt the dark power.

The spells impacted with the stones of the hall and while he couldn't see the intruder, he could sense him. As he blasted his spells in quick succession, Albus was quite impressed by the skill of the intruder. Whoever the person was, he or she was very skilled and fast to be able to dodge all his spell.

With a grim smile on his lips, Albus waved his wand to confront the foe.

.oOo.

_'There is no point of disguise any further.'_ Meciel advised him quickly. _'We have no choice but to fight him.'_

With flick of his wrist, he brought out both his Holly and Phoenix feather wand and dark, steel wand and silently cast dark pulverizing curse at the old man.

Two bright beams of sapphire erupted from his wands and shot toward the old man with frightening speed. Albus Dumbledore flicked his wand and a golem, made of stone, rose up protectively in front of him and was blasted apart. Not even waiting for the destroyed golem to fall to the ground, Dumbledore waved his wand again and an invisible wall of power swept through the hall from wall to wall and there was no way Aries could've dodged it.

He hissed in surprise when his complex disillusionment charm and silencing charm were ripped away, exposing him to the rest of the hall. Gasps of surprise ran throughout the hall when the students and staffs alike saw a figure dressed entirely in black materialized out of thin air. He was wearing a black trench coat and a hood that covered his face. They could see nothing inside the hood but only darkness.

_'Fuck! What the hell was that?'_ Aries snarled in anger as he quickly dodged a blasting curse and shot back dark cutting curse in return.

_'That was a spell-canceller.'_ Meciel hissed as she carefully observed his foe. _'It's a spell that negate the effect of other spells and extremely difficult to use. Whoever this man is he's very skilled.'_

_'Well at least my light deflection spell is still up.' _He thought as his wands waved in a blur. _'My face have not been recognized.'_

Hellfire rushed in his veins as he embraced the dark power and the smell of sulfur filled his nose. The runes on his wands flared and glowed ominously with power and his speed and power suddenly increased as well.

Pointing his wand at his adversary, he snapped out _"Argentum Telum!"_

The dark, ruby fire erupted from the end of his steel, black wand and rushed toward the old man but with flick of his wand, the fire was cut in half as it passed by the wizard harmlessly. Scowling in anger, Aries waved his wand and the fire began to circle the ancient headmaster like a fiery tornado, trapping him within the blistering heat.

To his surprise and those in the hall, there was a bright blue flash and the fire storm forcibly dissipated. Without hesitation, Albus waved his wand and a soft blue mist flared out of his wand and began to cover the battleground. Aries instinctively moved away from the mist and snapped out _"Siagrus!"_

A shimmering pulse of near-invisible magic rippled the air before clashing against the soft blue mist and there was a bright flash of light before the spells cancelled each other out. However, the blue mist was spread out in the hall and crept forward to his position.

Pointing his wands at his forearm, he cast a weak _Diffindo_ spell and watched his blood splatter and drip onto the floor. Twirling his wands around himself in a circular motion, Aries barked out _"Cruento Adustum!"_

The blood on the floor glowed as the dark magic twisted the blood and more seemed to bleed out of his cut before turning them into a raging maelstrom of power. The glowing, crimson bloodfire rose up and circled protectively over him and formed a dorm of dark power and the soft blue mist clashed against it.

There was a loud hiss as the two spells collided and the mist that came into contact with the bloodfire writhed before vanishing into the air. Aries increased the hellfire pouring into his wands and watched it flare as the bloodfire pulsed and seemed to deepen in color. With a cold smile at the old man, he spread out his arms wide and in an explosive power of dark energy, the bloodfire exploded outward. The blue mist writhed and the air hummed with power before the dark fire vaporized it.

The students cried out in terror and the staffs and few older students raised their wand and cast a wide dorm of magical shield as the dark fire battered against it. They gritted their teeth in strain for few moments before the dark fire disappeared. The fact that they had to struggle for few moments despite their collective numbers proved how powerful the dark spell was.

Albus Dumbledore grimaced at how the students were endangered. _'I must finish this now.'_

Waving his wand, he chanted out a series of incantation and from the end of his wand erupted a bright ball of light. The ball of light shot upward to the air beneath the awed gazed of gathered witches and wizard and pulsed before shooting out waves of magic toward the black-clad intruder.

Aries snarled as he ducked, rolled, pivoted, and back-flipped as he desperately sought to dodge the waves of bright lights. While his hellfire-enhanced speed gave him the edge, it was getting far too difficult to dodge a wave with a width of nearly 10ft. He jumped over one of the wave and grunted in pain when one of the wave caught him in midair. He felt the air leave his lungs violently when he crashed into the stone wall with enough force to crack the stone behind him.

_'You must stop beloved!'_ Meciel called out to him desperately. _'He's far too powerful! Destroy the cup so that we can flee!'_

Another wave of magic rolled toward him and Aries raised both his wands and snarled out a shield spell _"Aegis!"_

A glowing dome of sapphire light filled his vision. Unlike the _Protego_ spell, which was a glowing dome of soft light, this spell was deep sapphire in color and glowing runes were etched onto the magical shield. It was a new spell he had been practicing under Meciel's guidance and unlike the wand-magic, it was based on the Angel magic. It was only a tiny portion of Angelic magic but it was more than enough to maintain due to its nature.

The wave struck the glowing sapphire shield and to the shock of Dumbledore and those in the hall, the wave _bounced_ back. Aries smiled coldly as the shocked wizard hastily formed _Protego Maxiama._

This was the greatest advantage of his _Aegis_ spell. Not only was it extremely powerful, it deflected any attack back to its caster. Keeping his wand pointed at the ancient wizard, Aries chuckled darkly before dashing toward him.

This was another surprise of _Aegis_ shield. When the shield spells were cast, they were stationary but Aegis shield was _movable_. Keeping the deflective shield in front of him, Aries dashed forward while deflecting more and more magical waves thrown at him.

.oOo.

Albus Dumbledore felt his eyes widen in surprise as the black-clad intruder cast some kind of strange shield protectively over him. To his shock, it _deflected_ the attack and _threw_ it back at him and _moved_ as well. The intruder kept up the shield in front of him and dashed toward him all the while the waves clashed against the sapphire dome only to be bounced back at him. The _Protego Maxima_ he had conjured was blocking the deflected wave but the intruder was closing on the distance between them.

.oOo.

With a savage grin, Aries closed the last few feet and _smashed_ his _Aegis_ shield against the _Portego Maxima_. The shields flared and bright light flashed as the two shields sought to maintain their shape and to Dumbledore's shock, the black-clad intruder _pushed_ him away. Albus stepped backward from the magical backlash and to his shocked gaze, cracks formed on his _Protego Maxima._

Aries quickly turned away from the stunned old wizard and dashed toward the direction of staff table where all the students and staffs were gathered using the momentary chance. Pointing his other wand toward the masses, he conjured another _Aegis_ shield.

The students cried out in terror when the intruder dashed toward them with inhuman speed that no human was capable of and before the staffs could raise their wand to form a spell, he was already upon them. Using the shield, he physically pushed people away from his path and bulldozed through the sea of body. People struggled to get out of his way and combined with those bulldozed out of the way, created a domino effect as they all fell down haphazardly on the ground.

.oOo.

Albus Dumbledore watched with horrified eyes as the black-clad stranger charged toward the students and used that strange shield to bulldoze his way forward. When he jumped into the air, he raised his wand and sent three spells in quick succession in an attempt to subdue him.

.oOo.

Aries sheathed his Holly wand, and stepped on a certain greasy hair professor before jumping several feet into the air. While in midair he twisted his body and cast a brief _Aegis_ shield to block the spells coming at him from the back. Using the momentum of his twist, he spun until he had completely turned 360 degrees and his hand gripped the handle of the Judgement.

Completing his twist, Aries slid out the ancient blade from his back and brought it down in a savage arc upon the Goblet of Fire.

The Goblet resisted for a millisecond before succumbing under the raw power of the Angelic blade. Despite the amount of magic it had gathered over the centuries, it was still no match against the divine power of the blade.

The Judgement cleanly cut through the Goblet and severed it in half. And Aries' vision faded white as the world exploded in a violent explosion.

.oOo.

Albus Dumbledore watched with horrified eyes as the stranger brought out a elegant looking blade from his back and swung it down upon the Goblet of Fire.

_'No! The magic stored in the Goblet will explode!'_ Dumbledore thought frantically. _'The resulting explosion will kill them all!'_

There was no way for him to block the impending explosion. Only thing left to do was to direct it. Acting quickly, he brought up his wand just as the blade cut the Goblet _in half_.

The resulting backlash of magic tore through the hall and Dumbledore cried out in pain as he desperately tried to control the explosion. There was no way for him to block it so he did only thing he could do. Send it upward.

Bright light filled the Great Hall before the massive amount of magic exploded upward in a blinding arc of energy. The ceiling of Great Hall, which was enchanted to show the night sky outside, was blasted apart as the arc of energy shot through the ceiling and out onto the sky beyond.

Outside, Centaurs, Unicorns, and Beauxbation's winged horses and variety of other creatures cowered from the loud sound of explosion and watched with wide eyes as the pillar of light tore through the roof of the Great Hall and shot out onto the heaven above, illuminating the darkness.

.oOo.

Aries closed his eyes as the pillar of light erupted from the severed cup and felt himself violently flung back as the world around him explode in shower of bright lights. He felt Judgement fly away from his grasp and the his back flared in pain as he was slammed onto the ground several yard away. He gasped out in pain and immediately felt the hellfire rush through him, numbing it as Meciel worked to heal the injury.

With a grunt, he pushed himself up from the ground and surveyed the damage. The Goblet of Fire was destroyed and left a giant crater few feet around it. The staff table was literally destroyed and the students and staff alike were groaning in pain as they picked themselves up.

But it was the ceiling that really caught his attention. It was utterly destroyed. The entire rooftop of the Hall was gone and showed the night sky above.

He heard a gasp behind him and saw the old man he was battling earlier stagger while breathing heavily. A trail of blood ran down from his mouth onto his long, silver beard. Aries scrambled onto his feet and pointed his black, steel wand at him as he spat out phlegm. The old man didn't disappoint him and also pointed his wand toward him despite the amount of stress he was currently feeling.

He heard a movement behind him and flicked out his Holly wand he had sheathed earlier and pointed at the greasy haired professor he had stepped on earlier who was also pointing his wand at him.

"Drop it." The man rasped as his coal black eyes glared furiously at him.

It wasn't long before the staffs and other adults alike came forward and pointed their wand at the furious Denarian. One by one, even the students began to point their wand at him, trapping him completely.

Aries gritted his teeth as his furious emerald eyes flickered back and forth between the wands. His mind opened up and his telepathic ability sensed all the hostile intent coming from those in the hall. His mind, along with Meciel, was alert as he tried to discern who would attack first and embraced the dark power coursing through him.

All was silent as the entire Hall watched the him. "Well, if it isn't the Mexican Standoff." Aries rasped as runes on his wands glowed with hellfire. "Although hundreds against one is a fucked up situation."

Albus Dumbledore watched the intruder in front of him closely. During the explosion, the hood had been tossed back and now allowed the attacker's face to be showed to the public. The first thing he noticed was his eyes. They were almond-shaped eyes. Dark emerald color with icy look that seemed pierce everything with its mere gaze. He could see the dark power within it and inwardly shivered as they glowed ominously like twin Avada Kedavra curse.

But beneath the pool of power, he could see something unsettling. The shadows seemed to dance within the emerald pool and he could feel something dark, something ancient within the black-clad intruder.

Then came his messy black hair. It was the familiar wind-swept look he had seen numerous times and his side hairs seemed to reach up to his cheek while his bangs brushed just above his eyes. Between the bangs, he saw a faded lightning shaped scar. The stranger had heart-shaped face and small upturned nose he had seen before. The attacker was merely a teenage boy.

Albus felt his eyes widened in surprise. Almond-shaped, emerald eyes. Messy black hair. Heart shaped face with small, upturned nose.

He frantically tore his eyes from the boy and found the people he was looking for.

James and Lily Potter.

His eyes widened even further and his mouth dropped in shock as he registered the similarities between them. The boy looked almost exactly like James Potter except his almond shaped eyes were Lily's. His eyes were darker in color but there was no mistaking it. His heart-shaped face was also just like hers.

There was no mistaking it. The boy had their features and he could see the faint but familiar shape of lightning bolt on his forehead.

Before him stood the missing Potter heir. The eldest son of James and Lily Potter and the final Champion of the tournament.

Aries Potter.

The Prodigal son had returned at last.

Albus licked his dry lips and his voice came out in a hoarse whisper that echoed throughout the silent Hall. "Aries Potter."

The reaction was immediate as the gasps ran throughout the hall. Eyes widened and jaws dropped as they gapped at the black-clad boy incredulously. Near the back of the crowd, Lily Potter bonelessly collapsed onto the ground with wide eyes just as her husband grabbed her from falling.

The boy, on the other hand, merely widened his eyes slightly before narrowing them dangerously.

"Who are you?" He hissed as his eyes flared angrily. "How do you know my name?"

"It's really you." Dumbledore whispered as if he couldn't believe the sight in front of him. "You are really Aries Potter."

"No, wait!" A voice called out.

Aries saw a blur of blonde hair on the corner of his vision before the familiar sight of Amanda Carpenter placed herself in front of him, blocking the wand of the ancient wizard.

"He's a friend! He's not an enemy!" Amanda yelled desperately as she spread her arms wide as if to block him from the rest of the Hall. "He's the one who brought me here!"

Albus felt his eyes widened in surprise once more. "Do-Do you know him Miss Carpenter?" He stuttered in surprise.

"He's a family acquaintance." A soft feminine voice called out. The bodies parted as the tall, slender form of Molly Carpenter stepped out.

"A-Aries?" Another soft voice called out. Lily Potter haggardly stepped out from the circle of ring surrounding Aries followed by James Potter. Both looked stricken as Lily wildly searched his face. He had the same eyes as hers, the same heart-shaped face, and the same, small, upturned nose. Everything else was just like James.

Lily let out a chocked gasp as she tried to run toward him but was stopped when he moved the wand pointing the greasy-haired professor to her. "I wouldn't do that." He hissed dangerously.

"A-Aries? You are our Aries aren't you?" James stuttered out as he held desperately to his wife, who was crying at this point.

"My name," He bit out coldly "is Aries Angelos."

"I never was, never am, and never will be a Potter!" Aries spat out venomously as his eyes flashed eerily.

Lily Potter let out a choked wail of despair as she cried onto her husband's shoulder. "It's him James. It's our Aries. I know it's him."

"Aries?" Another voice called out.

A boy with dark red hair with brown high lights and thick glasses stepped out painfully from the crowd. He was supported by a boy with bright red hair and freckles while the other had mousy brown hair and eyes. His expression was twisted in pain as he grabbed his chest painfully.

"You're my brother?" He wheezed painfully.

"And so the circle is complete." Aries muttered as he glared at his biological family standing before him.

"We were never a family." He coldly informed them, ignoring the look of despair and tears that rain down Lily and James' face.

"You are a Potter?" Amanda gaped at him incredulously. "You are the missing Potter heir?"

Amanda quickly closed her mouth and quivered in fear when she saw the Denarian glare murderously at her.

"Aries-" Dumbledore opened his mouth but he was interrupted by a gasp of pain as another figure broke away from the crowd.

It was the girl with long silvery-blonde her and sapphire eyes. Her beautiful face was twisted with an expression of pain like her fellow champion as she leaned heavily on the giant woman who stood protectively on her side. Despite the pain she was feeling at the moment, her deep sapphire eyes gazed searching at Aries' face.

"Eet's you." She whispered as if she held a precious mirage that would disappear in any moment. "You are zat boy. You are the one who zaved me." She muttered much to the surprise of the crowd.

Aries felt his eyebrows furrow as he looked at the pretty Veela. He could feel the confusion from Meciel as well as they racked his brain for an image of this Veela standing before him. She claimed to know him and that he had saved her.

"Who are you? And how do you know me?" He asked her curtly as he warily gazed at the wands pointed at him.

"You 'ave grown. You saved me nearly 6 years ago from slave traders in France." She whispered as she looked at him with wonder and awe despite the pain she was feeling at the moment. "I was a little girl at that time, and you were a boy."

Aries frowned as he looked through his memories and felt Meciel start with realization. Then his eyes widened as he remembered the young Veela girl he saved all those years ago back in France.

"You were that girl?" Aries asked her with surprise.

"This is enough." Albus Dumbledore called out, stalling any conversation. His grave blue eyes swept through the hall. "I believe it's time that we find just what exactly is going on."

"The staffs, officials, and Potters will meet us in my office." Dumbledore hesitated. "I would also like the Carpenters and Miss Delacour to attend as well."

"I believe I should also attend as well." Another ancient looking wizard informed. "Carpenters are Salem's responsibility after all."

Dumbledore gave a small nod and turned his blue eyes back to the enigma in front of him."Mister Potter, I believe explanation would be necessary."

The dark, piercing emerald eyes clashed against Dumbledore grave blue eyes. "First of all, I'm NOT a Potter." He spat out angrily. "And second, what makes you think I'm going to explain myself?"

"I serve no one but myself old man." He said with cold sneer while ignoring the look of anger from the staff and students alike at his apparent disrespect. "I don't need to explain anything."

"Be that as it may, you still snuck inside the Hogwarts, destroyed the Goblet of Fire and endangered the lives of students." Dumbledore replied back politely. "Seeing as I am the headmaster of this school, it falls under my responsibility to understand the situation."

Aries gave a derisive snort. "I only came here for the one thing old man." He tilted his head to where the Goblet's remain was lying around. "I was forced into a magical contract unknowingly and unwillingly. I followed the magical trail here to investigate and destroyed the artifact that bound me."

His eyes grew even colder. "No one controls me and I'll destroy everything and everyone who stands in my way. The Goblet was an obstacle so I removed it." He said icily.

"The only thing left to do is to find the one responsible and kill him slowly." He said defiantly as Dumbledore's face grew hard. "I will make sure that person pays for one's mistake." He finished with feral smile.

"We are also investigating just how your name came out of the Goblet. It will be easier to find the one responsible with your cooperation." Dumbledore said diplomatically.

_'This man is quite smart.' _Meciel murmured in his mind. _'Not only is he skilled, he's a good politician.'_

_'What should we do Meciel?'_ Aries asked warily. _'I don't want to be involved with wand-wizards, especially with my so-called-family but they probably know that something I don't.'_

Meciel was silent as she viewed the problem from every angle, going through hundreds of different scenarios at once. _'I believe we should accept beloved. We still need to find the one responsible and make him or her pay. It will be more difficult if we disagree since these wand-wizards will no doubt interfere.'_

Aries grimaced but saw that she was right. His cold, emerald eyes glared at the serious, blue eyes of the Hogwarts Headmaster. "Fine. I accept." He said curtly as Dumbledore and everyone else's shoulders relaxed slightly.

"But remember that I listen to no authority or jurisdiction." He hissed as people tensed up once more. " Make no mistake. If anyone tries to control me, I will kill them." He snapped out much to the disbelief and wariness of those present.

Dumbledore frowned slightly and gazed at the young Denarian with healthy amount of wariness and caution. No normal teenager should be able to say that but he had first-hand seen how powerful the boy was. The spells he threw at him earlier were all dark curses that are considered illegal in many countries and fought with intention to maim, injure, and kill.

Albus had met several people like him in the past and all of them were very dangerous. People like him didn't hand out threats idly.

"I hope that we don't have to resort to violence." He said diplomatically. "All students, please return to your dorms and I shall be trusting the prefects to keep calm until the professors return." He informed the students.

The prefects nodded quickly and began to round up the students and swiftly led them out of the destroyed Hall and to their respective dorms. Madam Maxime, Headmaster Smith, and Headmaster Karkaroff also informed to their still-shocked students to return to their carriage and ship, exception being the Salem students who were escorted to large guest quarters of Hogwarts.

The champions, on the other hand, were quickly ushered to the Hospital Wing as they were suffering from the magical backlash of the contract being destroyed. Fleur refused on the spot to go to the Hospital Wing as well as Benjamin Potter who stubbornly replied that they had the right to be at the meeting as well.

"Non! I can still walk. I will go to zere later when zis is over." Fleur refused.

"I'm fine. I want to know just what exactly is going on." He wheezed. "I can go there later as well."

"Very well then, shall we?" Dumbledore gestured to the door leading out of the Great Hall.

Aries chuckled darkly and gave him a cold smile. "Oh no. I'm not trusting my back with anyone of you. All of you go first. I'll be at the very back."

The greasy haired man looked furious and opened his mouth to argue but Dumbledore shook his head, silencing him. The man closed his mouth and glared hatefully at the young Denarian who met his challenging glare with icy look of his own.

The old wizard gave Aries a curt nod and sat out in a brisk pace followed by the Hogwarts staff, the Potters, foreigners, the Carpenters and finally Aries Angelos.

As he led the group toward his office, Dumbledore couldn't help but to think warily. Just what had happened to Aries Potter? He was presumed to be dead for nearly 8 years or so and his name suddenly popped out from the Goblet, or what's left of it now. Then there was the fact that Carpenters and Fleur Delacour knew him somehow and his dueling skill, he used extremely dark curses with intention to kill.

_'Just who are you Aries James Potter?'_ Albus Dumbledore wondered as the stone gargoyle bowed to him moved out of the way.

* * *

**Whew! That was a long chapter. Sorry if the fight scene with Dumbledore was not as long. The next chapter will be more about explanation rather than actions.**


	13. Sympathy for the Devil

Sympathy for the Devil

The headmaster's office was a large circular room with many arched windows and portraits of previous headmasters and headmistresses. Amanda had been here only once and that was when she had to meet the old wizard as well as headmaster Smith about her decision to transfer to Hogwarts. After muttering the password, the group had walked up the steps and entered into the office. Various silver trinkets stood lined up on the top of the desk to the side and various tomes of the old were stacked up in the shelves. Off to the side, there was a large perch for something akin a bird and on the top of one of the bookshelves, the Sorting Hat lay still.

Amanda couldn't help but to widen her eyes in awe as she beheld the headmaster's office once more. Molly Carpenter snapped her sister out of her shock by nudging her on the back and the younger Carpenter let out an startled "eep!"

Amanda immediately ducked her head in shy embarrassment when the gathered people stared at her and felt her cheeks redden as the blood rushed up to her face. Chuckling quietly at the embarrassed looking blonde, Dumbledore led the crowd to where his desk was while many of them looked here and there with awe and appreciation, after all, he did spend several decades collecting all the things inside this office.

With a flick of his wand, he conjured up more chairs for the people to sit and strode behind his desk before sitting himself. "Please take a seat everyone." He said politely as he gestured at the various chairs which all looked quite comfortable.

"Mr. Potter , I believe-" Dumbledore trailed off as he looked at the group. The staffs, foreign delegations, Potters and Carpenters all looked around themselves and to their surprise, there was no sign of the boy.

"Where is the boy?" Headmaster Smith asked the question for everyone as they looked around his office.

"Miss Carpenter, have you seen him enter the office?" Dumbledore asked the two blondes as he frowned slightly at this unexpected occurrence.

"Umm.. I don't know." Amanda said with a sheepish smile. "He was with us when we were walking in the hallways."

"Arrogant boy!" The greasy-haired man clad in black robes snarled as his eyes flashed with anger. "Already sneaking off and breaking rules like _someone_ I know." He glared at the Potter men who glared right back at him.

"Why you greasy-" James Potter snarled but Dumbledore interrupted before they could get into another argument, before foreign delegations no less. "Enough! Two of you will cease this at once!"

Albus sighed as he wearily gazed at those in the room, whom many were looking impatient. "I believe we should find him first."

"We'll go get him headmaster." Molly Carpenter said as she rose up while laying her hand on her younger sister.

"We'll go as well" Lily said as she rose along with her husband.

The older Carpenter shook her head. "I think only Amanda and I should go look for him. He's already familiar with us and he has a tendency to be aggressive to anyone he perceives as hostile or new."

Dumbledore quickly nodded before Lily could open her mouth. "I believe that would be for the best, given how he reacted earlier."

With a nod, Molly Carpenter quickly left the office in search of the Denarian Renegade followed closely by Amanda. "I'll look for him on the upper floor, you go search the lower floor." She informed her younger sister briskly as she strode away from the office.

Amanda nodded and raced off to the Great Hall and the first floor. Just where had he disappeared off to? He was there when they walked out of the Hall and to the hallway leading up to the headmaster's office. Amanda was so lost in thought that when she turned from the corner, she ran into something solid with a startled yelp. It was almost running in a brick wall and she heard a grunt before she landed roughly on her butt.

"You stupid girl, don't you know not to run in the hallways?" A familiar voice called out as she lifted her head and looked up into piercing emerald eyes. "Or didn't your mother teach you the basic rules of society?"

She glared at the obvious snide remark. She had been so lost in thoughts that when she literally ran into the person she had been searching for. Aries Angelos had his trademark scowl with narrowed eyes as he stared at her with usual irritation but Amanda refused to back down like she had done so many times from his glare and stood up.

"Where have you been?" She demanded just as angrily. "We went inside the office and you just disappeared! Molly and I had to go search for you!"

Aries merely snorted and rolled his eyes at the irritated blonde. "I forgot my sword back in the Hall. With all the shits going on, I didn't know about it until we were walking in the hallways."

"Well can we go now?" Amanda asked just as irritably at the utterly unrepentant looking Denarian. "Everyone else is waiting for you and they are getting rather impatient."

"Whatever. Lead the way then." He shrugged nonchalantly.

With a annoyed huff, Amanda turned on her heels and led him back to the headmaster's office with brisk pace. Halfway through the way, they reunited with irritated looking Molly, judging by the way she was scowling at him.

"Well the hell have you been?" She snapped at him the moment she saw him.

"I went back to get my sword." Aries responded with lazy smile just to infuriate her. "Can't let anyone else have my toy, not that they can do anything with it."

Molly Carpenter growled at him and he gave her a smug smirk when he saw that she was gritting her teeth. This was one of his favorite pastimes other having sex: needling other people, especially the Carpenters. Molly made an ideal target for him with her fiery temper and small patience against anything evil, mainly him. He had been aggravating her ever since their first meeting and it always gave headaches to Dresden and the Knight, which was just a bonus in his opinion.

With one last glare at him, she turned away much like her sister had done and briskly led him to the office alongside her sister. Aries didn't mind as she walked closely alongside her sister while ignoring him completely, it gave him a perfect opportunity to look at their asses as he walked behind them.

_'Technically, it would be arses like the Brits would say.' _Meciel let out an amused chuckle. _'You are turning out to be an illiterate Yank.'_

_'Whatever Meciel.'_ Aries rolled his eyes mentally as he stared appreciatively at the rear ends of the Carpenters. Like mother like daughters, they had bitchy personalities but they definitely had the curves in all the right places. _'Asses or arses, it doesn't matter. Charity might be a bitch but she sure did pass on her looks to these two.'_

_'You are looking awfully closely at their behinds lately.' _Meciel observed with amusement as she materialized next to him with soft flash of light, her silver eyes twinkling as she looked back at him.

_'Nice ass is a nice ass no matter what language or form it is.'_ Aries defended as he turned his eyes away from the tantalizing sway of their hips to his personal guardian angel. _'Besides, I haven't gotten laid lately cause of the Carpenters and that fucked up contract.'_

Meciel rolled her eyes at his comments. It was so typical of him to focus on sex when they were in middle of possible hostile territory. Not to mention, they were about to embroiled in some deep shit_. 'You had sex Sephiria after I gave you that lap dance nearly a week ago.'_ She pointed out to her emerald eyed guardian.

Aries felt his lips tug upward in a wide grin as he remembered the dance Meciel gave him as a reward for killing Balthrail, which he permanently burned into his memory. She had dressed in a skimpy dress that showed off her cleavage while barely concealing her nipples and super-tight miniskirt that showed off her shapely legs and ending _just_ below her butt. Her dress was silver and white as usual and she looked absolutely ravishing in that outfit, not that she wasn't ravishing in her usual silver and white dress. The sight alone was so erotic and seductive that he got a massive hard-on at the mere sight of her appearance and he could only gape and barely stop himself from drooling when she started to dance in front of him.

Needlessly to say, it had done little to quench his thirst and had only served to heighten his already flaming desire for the ethereal Fallen. Like a barest drop of sweetest honey, it had him wanting more and more. In desperation, he had apparated directly to the White Court vampires' base with his lust flaring out of control and all but pounced on Sephiria when she turned up to meet him. It took him an entire night of debauchery to sate his lust after what Meciel had done for him.

_'Damn, that dance was SO HOT.'_ Aries thought as he fantasized about the dance for nearly a millionth time in a week alone. _'And that's a week too long if you ask me.'_

_'Can we get back to the matter at hand?'_ Meciel sighed exasperatedly. _'We are about to have a not- too-pleasant meeting with the wand-wizards.'_

_'I'll worry about it when I get there.'_ Aries answered lazily as he went back to staring at Carpenters' behinds.

_'The brat is growing up rather nicely.'_ He thought idly as he stared critically at the Amanda's ass.

_'I can't believe that Dresden still hasn't tapped that ass.' _Aries snorted with amusement as he transferred his gaze to the older girl. Molly Carpenter might have inherited her mother's bitchy personality but she's still hot.

Sadly, they soon came upon the entrance of the headmaster's office and the stone gargoyle moved out of the way before they could even utter out anything. With a shrug, Molly and Amanda walked up the stairs followed by Aries and opened the door to the room. As he entered the room, he couldn't help but to give a low whistle at the various artifacts and tomes gathered in this office. His stance remained relaxed but his eyes flickered around the office looking for possible escape routes, shadows, and the location of furniture that could be of a possible use to him.

Further into the office, he saw that everyone was seated in a semicircle with the old man, whom he learned was Albus Dumbledore, in the middle. There, facing directly at the semicircle was an empty but comfortable looking chair which he supposed was his. He looked quickly at the faces of the crowd and many of them looked at him with impatience, curiosity and wonder. He could practically feel such emotions rolling off them although several of them, such as Dumbledore and greasy-haired man felt as if they were shielded.

_'I can sense that those two are very skilled in Occulemency.' _Meciel whispered at him as he carefully extended his senses outward. He could still feel their general mood, but nothing solid. _'Dumbledore is especially skilled. Be very wary of him beloved, I sense that he is much more powerful than what we have experienced back in the Hall.'_

"Ah Mister Potter, glad you could join us." Dumbledore said lightly as his blue eyes twinkled with very well disguised curiosity. He was good, but not good enough to fool a Denarian like him with Telepathic ability. "May I ask where you have been?"

Dozens of sarcastic reply formed in his mind but he decided to give a truthful answer. After all, the old man was being rather polite, which was a vast difference to the usual murderous glares and furious snarls his enemies gave him.

"I had to go back for my sword." Aries answered with a shrug. "I forgot about it with all the shits going on."

The adults frowned at his use of obscenity and the greasy haired man, who had been glaring balefully at him immediately began to rant.

"Arrogant boy! Just like your father and brother with that attitude!" He snarled as his obsidian eyes flashed with deep-seated hate. "You Potters are nothing but arrogant rule breakers!"

The Potter men looked outraged at the insult and Lily Potter looked disapprovingly at the man but Aries merely raised his eyebrows and gave him an condescending sneer. Deliberately ignoring the man to needle him, he turned to Dumbledore. "You better keep your pet under control Dumbledore. He seemed to be having anger issues, I know a dog trainer who can whip that right out of him" He said mildly as his lips curled in a smirk.

The greasy haired man looked outraged and the two Potter males dissolved into not-so-well-hidden-sniggers. "Severus, that's enough." Dumbledore said firmly when the man was about to rise up from his seat. "I must ask you to stop antagonizing him."

"Now if you don't mind, would you please take a seat?" Dumbledore asked politely as he gestured at the empty chair.

Aries didn't move from his standing position and looked carefully at the seat. _'Meciel? Do you sense anything on that chair?'_

_'No, I don't sense anything. It's safe.'_ Meciel murmured as she carefully observed each individual in the room.

Aries strode forward onto the chair before drawing out Judgement from its strapped position so that he could sit comfortably. The people in the room stiffened slightly when they saw him draw out the blade but Aries merely plopped down on the chair before leaning his head on his closed right hand with its elbow resting on the armrest. He swung his leg over the other and casually held the grip of Judgement as the angelic blade leaned against the side of the chair.

From his position, Dumbledore thought that he looked like a bored young prince with the way his head was supported by his enclosed hand. His whole body was relaxed despite the fact that everyone's seat was pointed toward him but he could see that his piercing, emerald eyes remained alert.

_'Not bad.'_ Meciel mused as she looked over the seat arrangement. _'The man positioned the chairs in semicircle facing you to pressure you into anxiety and nervousness so that it would be easier for you to answer their questions.'_

It was a common tactic used by the police when they interrogated the apprehended suspects. With his back facing the open area, it would force the person to feel nervousness with the possibility of being attacked from the back. _'Not that it would work, of course.'_ Meciel chuckled lightly.

_'If I was a pathetic and spineless worm like the most mortals, it might have worked.' _Aries snorted mentally. _'But I'm not the weakling that I used to be. They are in for a rude awakening if they think these cheap tricks would work on me.'_

"For starters, I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts." The old wizard introduced to him. "Seated to my right side are the staffs of Hogwarts: Professors Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Fillius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, and Alastor "Mad eye" Moody."

"And the messy-haired looking man with glasses and the woman with red hair are your parents, James and Lily Potter." Said Dumbledore as he looked closely at the boy, who looked coldly at them much to their dismay. "And your younger brother, Benjamin Potter."

Aries snorted and turned his eyes back to Hogwarts headmaster. "I think I can tell who they are myself given the similarities." He said dryly.

"On the left are Headmaster Smith, Madam Maxime, Miss Delcacour, and Headmaster Karkaroff. They are the foreign representatives to Hogwarts." He said with a nod to them. "And of course, you know the Carpenters."

Aries looked around leisurely at the people around him, silently judging their reactions with his piercing emerald eyes that unnerved them inwardly. The eyes seemed to glow eerily with inner power and many of them felt as if they were being judged.

The staffs of Hogwarts looked at him with mixture of wariness, curiosity and anger. The greasy haired man, Severus Snape, looked particularly venomous. Sliding his gaze further to the right, he saw his biological parents look at him with sorrow, desperation, and undisguised hunger. Lily's lips were trembling as she beheld her firstborn and only James seemed to stop her from pouncing on him or breaking down completely. Off to the side, he saw his younger brother gnawing his lips as his face was contorted with a grimace, probably suffering from the magical backlash.

Turning his gaze away from them, he observed the foreign delegations. Smith was an ancient wizard like Dumbledore but not as powerful, the giant woman who was introduced as Madam Maxime looked at him warily as she sat protectively next to her pupil. The Veela, Fleur Delacour, looked at him with wonder and open curiosity despite the pain she was feeling at the moment. She seemed to shift slightly with nervousness under his icy gaze. Continuing on, the man known as Karkaroff was looking at him suspiciously, who grimaced when his piercing emerald eyes pinned him to his seat.

Carpenters, on the other hand, were the only ones who seemed more relaxed in his presence. Molly Carpenter remained impassive and stoic as she looked at him but he could see the hint of curiosity in her blue eyes while Amanda looked little nervous as her eyes darted back and forth between him and his biological family.

"Firstly, I must say that shocked were not adequate words to express when your name came out of the Goblet, even more so when you showed up today." Dumbledore said as his serious but twinkling blue eyes looked at him with scrutiny.

"That sword was able to cut through the enchantments on the Goblet of Fire," Dumbledore began as he looked more closely at the ancient blade. "It's a powerful weapon you are carrying."

"We should confiscate it." A voice grunted as the heavily scarred man with a wooden leg and revolving magical eye spoke out. "It could be a dark artifact for all we know."

Aries narrowed his eyes as he glared at the insolent fool. "I would like to see you try. I could always chop off your other leg and wrap it around with a ribbon and give it to you as souvenir for your epic failure." He sneered at the scarred looking veteran.

Karkaroff let out a snigger before he coughed hastily to cover up his laughter while others gawked at his impetuousness. Carpenters didn't look all that surprised, given that they were familiar with his sardonic attitude, but Moody met his challenging glare with his own as his revolving magical eye swiveled to focus on him.

"You have a nerve boy, I'll give you that." He grunted as he shifted on his seat before taking out a flask and taking a swig from it. "I have seen lads like you before, nearly all of them ended up getting killed in their arrogance or landed in Azkaban with Dementors as their permanent cell-mates."

Lily gasped as she looked at the Defense teacher incredulously while James growled at him. "My son will not be going anywhere near Azkaban, Mad-Eye!"

Aries smirked arrogantly at Moody as he leaned back while looking bored at the same time. "And what have you faced in your life Alastor Moody? I can guarantee you that I have faced far worse things and emerged triumphant." He smirked cockily.

"I have faced vampires, werewolves, and variety of dark creatures as well as hordes of dark wizards, whom majority of them are rotting away in Azkaban. Things that wizards and witches would go mad from facing them." He growled as he stared at the young teenager with hard face.

The Denarian merely quirked his eyebrow before letting out an amused bark of laughter much to the surprise of those gathered. "That's it? That's all you can brag about?" He chuckled. "The wand-wizards are such a disappointment. What a bunch of weaklings."

"I suppose that the reason they call you Mad-Eye is because you went insane from those pitiful weaklings you have faced?" He taunted the veteran as he shook his head in a mocking fashion.

Moody's face hardened even further and before Dumbledore could calm the situation, Aries ploughed on. "I have killed far bigger and badder things in life." He drawled.

"Like for example... a Basilisk." He informed them dramatically.

The stern faced witch, tiny looking wizard who reminded him slightly of a goblin and a plump faced witch gasped in shock while Snape sneered at his claim. Lily looked ready to faint and sagged on James' shoulder as he gaped at him. Moody let out a bark of laughter.

"There is no way a boy like you can kill a Basilisk of all things. I would say this would be amusing if not outright ridiculous." He snorted.

Aries shrugged nonchalantly. "It's true. I impaled its head with this sword over here. In case you have forgotten, I _did_ fight Dumbledore to standstill earlier today." He informed them smugly.

"I have heard that the old man is rather powerful during the short time I spent here." He smirked at the shocked look on the audience.

"There is no way you could've defeated a Basilisk!" A voice yelled out from the side. Turning his head, Aries saw that his stupid looking brother was looking at him angrily. "And Dumbledore is the greatest wizard since Merlin so there was no way you could've defeated him as well!"

_'Just how in the world am I related to this idiot?' _Aries wondered as look of disdain crossed his features. _'I can't believe we share the same blood.'_

_'Indeed beloved. This is the biggest mystery of all.'_ Meciel mused in his head. _'He has absolutely no talent unlike you.'_

"Before anyone can rudely interrupt by shouting," Molly Carpenter spoke out, glaring at the rude boy. "I believe I can answer this question better than anyone."

Aries quickly glared at her. She better not say anything about his ability or his power to anyone here or there will be a hell to pay! Molly silently recognized his threat and carefully spoke out. "My family have known him for years and I know only handful of people who can fight him to a standstill."

"If you really want to take this sword why don't you give it a try?" Aries quickly cut in before she could say more.

Giving a challenging smirk toward Moody, he leaned forward from his seat before impaling the sword on to the ground, its sharp business end sinking into stone floor with sickening ease.

"Go ahead. If you think you are worthy enough to pull out the sword." He said with smug smile as he leaned back.

Moody grunted as he stood up from his chair. He limped toward the sword before pulling out his wand and casting a diagnosis spell, Constant Vigiliance must be practiced all times after all. To everyone's surprise, the spell shattered the moment it came into the contact with the sword. Frowning, Moody cast spell upon spell at the sword but each spell seemed to shatter, slide away, or bounce away from the gleaming blade. With a wordless snarl, Moody glared at the blade before carefully extending his hand toward its grip.

The moment his skin came into contact with the metal, he withdrew his hand back with a painful hiss as black lightning sparked into view. "What kind of dark magic is this?" Moody snarled as he turned around to the completely relaxed Aries Angelos as he looked on with smug smirk.

"What's wrong Moody? Can't you touch the sword?" He taunted from his position. "Or are you not worthy enough?"

Leaning forward, Aries gripped the handle of Judgement and much to the surprise of those gathered, black lightning flashed and travelled down its length. He easily pulled it free from the stone floor and returned it to his side as if nothing had happened.

"The sword is mine and accepts no one but myself." He sneered at the astonished gazed he received.

"We should have someone examine that sword for any dark magic." Moody glowered as he looked suspiciously at Aries and his gleaming sword. "It's far too dangerous to be carried by anyone."

Aries shrugged as if he didn't have any care in the world. "You and anyone else are welcome to try but don't be surprised if you find yourself as a sashimi. I'm not handing over my sword without a fight."

"As interesting the sword is, I believe we are here to know what had happened to Mister Potter." Dumbledore smoothly interjected before the situation could turn violent, he didn't want another fight to occur, inside his office no less.

"Is this some sort of interrogation? Cause if it is, I doubt it would work." Aries replied dryly as he met Dumbledore's stare with his own. "And my name is Aries Angelos, not Potter."

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, this is not an interrogation."

Aries quirked his eyebrow. "Really? The seating arrangement says otherwise." He snorted.

Dumbledore looked slightly abashed and coughed but was saved from answering when the door to his office forcibly opened to reveal Sirius Black who strode in with his eyes blazing.

"Where is he? Where is my godson!" Sirius growled as he briskly stepped toward Dumbledore's desk.

Aries didn't move or stand from his position but merely observed the tall man dressed in Auror robes when he moved into his field of vision. He had shaggy black hair that reached up to his shoulders and had grey eyes which burned with emotions.

"Sirius my boy, calm down. We just started talking, in fact, he's sitting right behind you." He nodded to the person behind him.

Whirling around, Sirius felt his breath caught in his throat as he finally beheld his godson after nearly 14 years. It was as if he was staring at James with Lily's eyes and face. Back at the hall, he was too far away to recognize his features and had to do his Auror duties before all but running to the headmaster's office. He slowly knelt down so that he was on eye-level with him.

"Harry?" He whispered.

The boy didn't move an inch and gave him a flat stare. "Who are you?" He asked bluntly.

Sirius inwardly shivered as his own grey eyes met his godson's piercing emerald eyes. They were so much like Lily's, yet so different. They lacked the happy luster Lily had and was much darker and had icy look to it. It seemed to glow eerily like the infamous Killing Curse.

"Harry, I'm Sirius Black." Sirius introduced himself after swallowing nervously. "I'm your godfather."

"I have a godfather?" Aries asked blankly. That particular piece of information was new to him.

Sirius silently nodded. Aries closed his eyes before opening them once again. "My name is Aries Angelos, not Harry." He said coldly as the man in front of him flinched slightly.

"Harry was the nickname we used to call you when you were young." Sirius explained as he inwardly shivered from the darkness within his godson's eyes. Aries kept his silence and drummed his fingers against the arm of the chair as he worked out the newest piece of knowledge.

"If you were my godfather, then why was I sent to live with Dursleys and not you." Aries asked slowly as he frowned.

Sirius swallowed his dry throat and hung his head in despair along with the Potters. "I-I asked Professor Dumbledore and your parents why I couldn't have your guardianship and they replied that it was for the best." He answered dejectedly.

Aries didn't say anything but his eyes grew colder. These bastards willingly sent him away to those filthy, disgusting failures of life when he had a godfather! By just one decision, they could've saved him years of abuse, torture and misery!

His temper flared and his hands twitched with the need to grab his wands and curse all of them to oblivion and run them through with Judgement. He took a deep, calming breath as Meciel soothed his burning rage. Now was not the time to lose his temper, he needed to stay calm and observe the situation rationally so that he may make the best decision.

"You should've tried harder." Aries replied flatly. Sirius flinched from his answer and seemed to shrink inward in shame. It was probably a cruel response but Aries was beyond caring. The fact that he could've avoided all those years of suffering in the hands of Dursleys pissed him off far too much and he discarded most of his humanity the moment he embraced being a Denarian and the dark powers that came with it.

"Sirius, I think it would be best if you took a seat along with others." Dumbledore said calmly as the man bowed his head in shame. He could feel the boy's power spike suddenly along with his temper and grimaced inwardly at the aura of utter darkness. Just how had this boy become this dark? He had only felt such darkness twice in his life, from Gellert Grindelwald and Tom Riddle, or more known as Voldemort. It took them nearly several decades for their aura to become so dark and yet, Harry Potter, or Aries Angelos as he preferred, was able to reach such level in his teen years.

It filled him with horror and wariness as he examined the boy's aura. So much power, yet so much darkness and his rage and hatred clung to him like a cloak. He was so much like them, and in some ways, even darker than the 2 Dark Lords he had encountered. He would need to be watched closely and monitored, he couldn't allow someone as powerful and dark as him to run around without supervision.

When Sirius dejectedly made his way toward his seat near the Potters, Dumbledore turned his twinkling eyes upon the enigma in front of him once more. "Well I think we started off this conversation on wrong foot." Albus Dumbledore said apologetically.

"I must say it's good to see you alive." Dumbledore said as he rekindled the conversation. "We were all very worried when your relative's house burnt down. For many years, we thought that you had perished along with your relatives."

_'I wonder if I should tell them that I'm the cause of the fire.' _Aries thought silently. _'It'll be so worth it to see their expressions.'_

_'I think we shouldn't tell them unless it's necessary. The less they know about us, the better.' _Meciel advised him as she observed the old wizard.

_'The Carpenters already know about us. There is a chance that they will spill the beans.'_ Aries replied back as he glanced at the blonde sisters.

Meciel was silent for a moment as she pondered their next move. _'I don't know if they'll get your message to keep their silence but with the way this conversation is going, there is a real possibility that they may find out about me. We'll simply have to observe the situation and play our cards to our advantage.'_

The whole conversation took only 2 seconds and Aries made his decision. He would toss some bones to distract them and hope that they don't question too much about his story, not that he would tell them anything important. He would have to keep Meciel's existence secret until they forced his hand.

Aries simply shrugged and stared at those gathered with blank face. Albus Dumbledore looked searchingly at him for something before continuing gently. "I am deeply sorry for your loss of aunt, uncle, and cousin. I'm sure you miss them a lot much like your mother." Dumbledore nodded to Lily Evan whose lips were trembling as she looked raptly at her long lost son.

At that, Aries couldn't help but to burst into fit of laughter. This guy was really testing his acting ability! Him feeling miserable for Dursley's death? Ha! What a joke! There was a limit to his lying skill but this was too unexpected that he couldn't help but to laugh until his ribs started hurting.

Amanda looked incredulously at the boy she had known with wide eyes. As far as she knew, she never remembered him laughing like this before. There was a genuine amusement in his laughter unlike the mocking tone or coldness he generally had and it sounded surprisingly more pleasant than she anticipated. Amanda bit her bottom lip and quickly shook the thought away. The subject of his mirth was rather morbid one and it was not a time to ponder about such things.

The people gathered looked shocked and taken back. How could the boy laugh at the subject like this?

Dumbledore frowned and waited until the laughter faded away but Aries would snigger occasionally. "May I ask what is so amusing?" He asked politely as he scrutinized the young boy. Many youngsters would find it rather unnerving that the famous Albus Dumbledore was scrutinizing them but this boy was completely unperturbed.

"You. That's what's so funny." Aries answered as he shook his head with eyes dancing with mirth. "Me, miss the Dursleys? That's the biggest load of bullshit I ever heard. Trust me when I heard a lot of bullshits but this one just took the cake."

Other than the Carpenters, everyone looked rather shocked. Karkaroff and Snape merely raised their eyebrows in surprise but kept their face rather blank while Moody grunted and narrowed his eyes, or the remaining one. Lily gaped at her son at his audacity as well as total disregard for his relatives. While Petunia and she didn't get along as well as they did back during their childhood, she was still her sister, her family.

"Bu-But Aries, she's your aunt, she's your family." Lily stammered when she met his icy gaze.

"They are not my family." He hissed furiously at her. "They never was, never am, and never will be my family. They were nothing more than a pathetic excuse of lump of flesh and I'm glad that they're dead."

Lily flinched from his harsh words and looked away from his glowing emerald eyes. It seemed to glow eerily like the Avada Kedavra curse and it frightened her more than she would admit.

"What had happened to you Mister Pot-Mister Angelos?" Dumbledore quickly corrected himself after catching the boy's deadly gaze. It might be best at the moment to not anger him, given how destructive he was.

"I changed for the better, obviously." Aries drawled as he rolled his eyes. "I am far better than who I was before."

"I-I don't understand. What are you talking about Aries?" James managed as he looked at his firstborn. He was not what he expected at all. He was so cold, so dark, that his heart clenched every time he met his own son's gaze.

Aries leaned back and placed his head on his clenched right fist as he slowly looked at the room. The Potters looked rather pale as Lily and James shivered from his piercing gaze while Benjamin looked at him with rapt attention but he could see him grimace at his attitude and from pain. Sirius Black sat hovering next to them as he looked torn between helping the Potters and look beseechingly at him.

The Hogwarts staff, introduced as McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout looked shocked at his casual disregard of his blood relatives while Snape had a slight sneer on his face.

Headmaster Smith kept wary eyes on him and he could spot his frown on his weathered face. The French looked shocked as well and Karkaroff kept his face carefully blank like Snape. Carpenters, on the other hand, kept their cool as they already knew his story. However, he could see that Molly's face was rather tight and Amanda's eyes radiated nervousness.

"I hardly see why their death is so amusing." Dumbledore chided in his normal tone but Aries could see that his area around his eyes tightened and his lips pursed in a faint line of disapproval. "What had happened to them Mr. Angelos?"

Aries gave a dark smirk as he chuckled in satisfaction. "Obviously it's very funny since I'm the one who killed them." He drawled.

"WHAT!" Lily shouted as she jumped to her feet only to collapse again to James' arms. James looked frantically between his wife and his son as he desperately sought to make sense of what had happened.

"Please tell me you are lying!" James shouted amidst the shocked and horrified looks of those gathered and the voices started clamoring, demanding explanation.

Sirius and Benjamin was torn between trying to comfort Lily from her hysterical blabbers and demanding more answers from Aries while the McGonagall held her hand to the chest as she sought to calm her heart with horrified looks. Snape, for once, seemed shocked as he stared at the unrepentant-looking boy who sported a satisfied smirk. He had the misfortune to meet Lily's older sister during his youth and she was one of those muggles who purebloods based their disdain towards.

Maxime and Karkaroff didn't say anything as they were foreigners but they differed in their opinions. She grimaced at the boy's casual disregard for his homicide and Karkaroff felt rather mixed at the situation, he had no love for muggles but killing one's blood relatives made him somewhat squeamish.

A flash of fire suddenly rippled into existence and from those flames came a shape of a bird. It was as big as a swan but had red and gold feathers that looked as if it was made of real fire. The bird swept its black coal eyes through the room and opened its beaks and began to sing. Soft melody and trills eased the hearts of the troubled and the soothed the growing tension in the room as it continued to sing its hauntingly beautiful melody.

The angry and hysterical voices calmed down and Lily's sobbing gradually decreased as all occupants in the office looked at the beautiful looking bird. Fleur Delacour and Benjamin Potter sighed in relief as their pain from magical backlash became more bearable and looked at it with awe and wonder. Being a Veela, she was easily able to recognize another being of fire and passion and there was only one thing that fit the description of the bird.

"A phoenix." She murmured as she looked at the beautiful immortal bird of fire with wide eyes.

"I never thought that I would see a phoenix in my life." Molly whispered in awe.

The phoenix turned its head and scrutinized the two Carpenters who looked back unflinchingly. It gave a soft trill as it recognized another being of light and pure hearts and flew toward the younger of Carpenters who looked rather startled but a soft smile lit her face as she beheld the legendary bird.

"Thank you Fawkes." Dumbledore's voice broke the sudden silence brought by the phoenix.

"You know this phoenix headmaster?" Molly asked the ancient wizard with curiosity and surprise. It wasn't everyday that she encountered a wizard who had a connection with a phoenix, a legendary bird which symbolized the light and all that was good.

Dumbledore chuckled and turned his twinkling gaze upon the young true-mage. "I do indeed Ms. Carpenter. Fawkes here had been my companion for several decades."

Amanda looked at the Hogwarts headmaster and felt immense respect for the old wizard. With her father who worked as one of the holy Knights of Cross, she knew that the old man must have done something for the good to have a phoenix as a companion. She hesitantly reached out with her hand and stroked the soft feathers of Fawkes who let out a soft trill and leaned into her touch. Amanda giggled slightly as she ran her hand through its feathers.

The phoenix turned its head toward the girl who sat next to the human in front of it and gave another soft trill. Fleur Delacour swallowed her dry throat and reached out with shaking hands until she gently stroked Fawkes. The Veela side of her immediately recognized the being as something more powerful and greater than it and bowed its head in respect. Both were the birds of fire and the phoenix was much greater in terms fire and power.

Karkaroff, on the other hand, seemed to flinch and squirmed in his seat whenever the phoenix trilled and surprisingly, Moody did so as well, which didn't escape unnoticed by Dumbledore and a certain Denarian. Fawkes took off from Amanda and flew toward Dumbledore where it landed on his shoulder in a show of possessiveness.

"A Fae. A Summer Fae." A voice whispered, cutting through the silence and awe.

Dumbledore stiffened as his eyes widened in shock and alarm and turned his head toward the source of noise. Aries Angelos was no longer leaning back in his seat with casual disregard and laziness, he was now leaning forward with rapt attention as if he would jump out of his seat in a moment's notice. His eyes were hard but the expression of surprise was quite evident on the face of normally stoic and unemotional teen.

Amanda and Molly, obviously knowing the meaning, looked shocked at the revelation. A wand-wizard with a Summer Fae? Dumbledore, on the other hand, looked back at Aries with surprise clearly evident on his face. There weren't many wand-wizards who were aware of the Faes' existence and yet he clearly knew Fawkes for what he was, even down to which Court he belonged.

"You made a deal with a Summer Fae didn't you?" Aries whispered incredulously, even Meciel was surprised as she intently scrutinized the immortal bird.

"A Summer Fae? What are they talking about Albus?" McGonagall asked as she looked confusingly between Dumbledore and the young Denarian. She and rest of the staff had known that Fawkes was their eccentric headmaster's bonded partner for several years now but what was the boy saying?

Dumbledore ignored her for a moment and stared intensely at enigma before him. "How is it that you know Fawkes or the Faes in general Mr. Angelos?"

Aries met the piercing blue eyes of Dumbledore with his own penetrating gaze. "You aren't the only wand-wizard who knows about the Faes Dumbledore." He replied back evenly.

"Albus just what are you talking about?" Flitwick asked his employer with a slight frown.

_'No, they are not ready to learn about this knowledge, if ever. The two worlds must be kept separate.'_ Dumbledore thought grimly. _'Wand-wizards were not ready to learn that there are other worlds out there other than their own or the muggles'._

"It's something to do with Fawkes and I'm afraid it's not my place to tell." Dumbledore answered vaguely as he evaded the question. "I believe we were in middle of something before we got side tracked?" The old headmaster said as he skillfully nudged the conversation away from the Faes and to Aries' story.

_'It's better if these wand-wizards don't know anything about Fae in general.'_ Meciel advised him while still observing the Summer Fae. _'The less they know about the Faes or true-magic, the better it is for us.'_

Aries silently acknowledged her point and Dumbledore's attempt at steering the conversation away from the uncomfortable subject. While their motives were different, they could at least agree on that subject.

Deciding to bring attention back to their earlier conversation, Aries spoke out. "Oh yeah that. I killed the Dursleys and it was one of my best memories ever."

As expected, the attention swiveled back toward him and away from the Faes. "And you freely admit this?" McGonagall spoke with horrified whisper. Her face was ashen and her lips were thinned as she looked at the obvious lack of remorse at the face of Denarian.

Aries looked around the room with bored expression and let out an derisive snort. "If you are expecting me to show remorse or guilt for my murder than you are looking at the wrong person and obviously lack any brain capacity." He replied with dry voice as he rolled his eyes at the plaint stupidity of those around him. "In case all of you are deaf, I did say that I was proud of the fact that I killed them myself. It was quite literally one of the best moments of my life."

"Ho-How c-could you?" Lily sobbed out as she looked beseechingly at her lost son. "How c-could y-you k-ki-kill them? They were yo-your relatives!" She hiccupped distraughtly from her husband's arms.

Aries' piercing emerald eyes darkened considerably and those in the room recoiled inwardly as his eyes grew colder than the coldest of snowstorms. "They were never my family!" He hissed furiously as he glared murderously at Lily Potter. To their surprise, the air around Aries Angelos began to crackle and hummed with power as his aura, emerald like his eyes, flared from him.

Albus felt his eyebrows shot upward in surprise at the powerful display of the boy's power. Only few wizards and witches managed to produce auras and it was considered as the sign of skill and power. _'To flare out aura at such age... Just who are you Aries Angelos?'_ Dumbledore wondered silently as he gripped his wand in case the situation got out of control.

"No matter how much I wish otherwise, the only thing that connected me to those fucking scums was that we shared the same blood!" He snarled at the red-headed woman who seemed to flinch and shrink away from him in fear. "But that doesn't mean that they were my family! Just as you are not my mother!" He snapped at Lily who let out a heart-wrenching wail as she broke down once more in James Potter's arms.

He closed his eyes and blocked out the sounds of Lily's crying, James and Benjamin Potter's shouting, and Sirius Black's pleas as he sought to bring his burning fury under control and prevent his power from flaring out. After several tense moments, he returned to his self and loosened his death grip, which he unconsciously had tightened and destroyed the wooden armrest of the chair.

"Mr. Angelos, why did you kill them?" Dumbledore asked gravely as he sought to control the situation once more. "What possessed you to commit such horror?"

Aries glared at the Potters once more before shrugging. "Let's just say that they were little abusive to me." He said blandly as he once more adopted the stoic and blank poker face.

Flitwick and Sprout looked scandalized and Sirius Black let out a threatening growl. Maxime and Smith grimaced at the news, child abuse was one of the worst crimes in the magical world and heavily frowned upon.

"Zey abused you?" Fleur asked angrily as she tightened her grip. While he may have committed atrocious act of murder, it didn't change the fact that he was still he savior. The one who saved her from the possible life time of slavery and sexual abuse and it filled her with rage at the thought of her savior being abused by his own relatives no less.

Lily Potter choked back her sobs long enough to burst into another tears while James Potter, other hand, exploded from his seat. "WHAT! They abused you?!"

"So you just killed them for a little abuse?" Snape sneered snarkily while ignoring the indignant looks from rest of the people. "You murdered your relatives just because you couldn't take their belittling?"

"I should've known. You Potters are all-" Snape's mocking was cut off as James Potter jumped up from his seat with a snarl and pulled out his wand, pointing it toward his childhood nemesis, his expression contorted with fury at Snape's insults. Snape was just as fast as he also stood up from his seat pointing his wand at his hated enemy.

"Severus! James! That's enough!" Dumbledore snapped as he looked disapprovingly at the two grown men. For the first time Aries had seen, imperturbable Dumbledore looked actually angry. The two men reluctantly sat down at the command of their employer.

"I was being sarcastic you greasy slime ball." Aries sneered back at the sneering Slytherin head of the house. "By the way, have you ever heard of this fascinating product called shampoo? I would give it to you as your Christmas gift seeing as you don't even have two brain cells to rub together since you don't even know the fact that you are suppose to wash your hair." He mockingly taunted the greasy haired man who grew even more infuriated with each words.

"Oh you don't like it? Then I'll just have to shave your head. I hear fleas and lice are rather hazardous your health." He finished with dark smirk as Snape's self control finally snapped under his taunts. He swiftly pulled out his wand again and jumped to his feet with intention to curse the smug looking Potter brat when Dumbledore thundered out. "Severus!"

Severus Snape choked and looked angrily at the Hogwarts' headmaster as different emotions battled inside him. His teeth clenched and his muscles stiffened before he slowly sat down on his seat while glaring furiously at Aries Angelos who matched his sneer with his own.

James Potter would've been incredibly amused if not for the fact that he was feeling very emotional at the moment, the situation was far too morbid to feel any humor. But it wasn't every day that he saw another person match Snape's infamous sneer with his own and it was done by his own son no less!

Dumbledore frowned heavily as he peered over his half-moon glasses and his eyes lost its previous twinkles. "What do you mean by being abusive to you Mr. Angelos?" Dumbledore asked gently. Abused children had the behavior of shutting up on the said subject and rarely expressed themselves.

To his surprise, Aries shrugged nonchalantly but he caught a flicker of grimace. "If you call being stabbed by a kitchen knife a little abuse and belittling then yea, I did kill them because of it." He directed it at the greasy haired bastard with a condescending sneer.

"YOU GOT STABBED?!" Lily cried out in shock as she looked him with horrified expression.

Dumbledore's face dropped in shock and he wearily took off his glasses as he rubbed his eyes tiredly while James and Sirius swore loudly as their face contorted into fury. The rest, other than the Carpenters, also shared revulsion and horror since the blonde sisters had already heard his story long ago but they couldn't help but to grimace. No child should've been forced to endure what had happened to him and physical abuse was one thing but outright attempt at murder was something else.

Snape, for once, had nothing snarky to say him despite the utter fury he was feeling because of the boy.

"Oh Aries, what have they done to you?" James looked sadly at his son as tears began to run down his face like Lily's.

Aries closed his eyes as the memory of his abuse leaped into his mind. He hated those memories with passion but he grudgingly acknowledged them as they were part of him, part of something that shaped him into who he was today. The painful memories were washed away by the tides of white-hot fury he still felt whenever he remembered those awful times followed by the intoxicating rush of bloodlust and immense satisfaction when he went over the memory of Dursleys' slaughter at _his_ hands.

He was no longer weak. He was no longer powerless to protect himself. He had faced his greatest fear and emerged triumphant. He had made sure to kill those motherfuckers in most painful ways he thought of and paid back all his suffering tenfold. While he still wanted to resurrect them again and again so that he may kill them each time, he contented himself by knowing that they were definitely suffering in the pits of Hell in the afterlife.

His eyes snapped open and everyone cringed slightly at the sight of his eyes. They were literally glowing neon green and reminded them too much of the Avada Kedavra curse with their eerie glow. Aries took a deep breath to calm himself and his eyes ceased their glow.

"For first 7 years of my life, I was treated as nothing more than a slave." Aries hissed quietly. "They treated me with contempt, hate, and disgust."

"I was forced to work for them by doing all the chores. I was beaten, starved, and insulted nearly every single days of my life. Starvation, bruises, and broken bones were nearly everyday occurrence for me." He whispered dangerously as his piercing gaze swept over the room, daring anyone to mock him.

People watched with horrified looks as the dark past of Aries Potter, or Aries Angelos he liked being called, was slowly brought to the surface. It was just sickening but they couldn't look away or block out the sounds. It was like one of those morbid fascination where one knew that he or she should look away but can't help but to see it through the end. They felt as if they were under his spell, unable to do anything but to listen as if hypnotized.

"They hated any and all things related to magic and attempted to 'beat it out of me' as they said." Aries spat out angrily. His rage burned within him and was begged to be released. "And if it wasn't for my magic, I would've died long ago."

"And then came one day when I finally snapped." Said Aries.

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked quietly, he really didn't want to anger the boy right now. He may be powerful but the gathering darkness within Aries Angelos honestly unnerved him, not to mention that he was extremely dangerous despite his youth. It was just something he would rather avoid unless he absolutely had to face it.

"My magic was unleashed." Aries lied smoothly. It wouldn't do well for them to find out about Meciel's existence and his loss of humanity, not that he regretted the decision. Technically speaking, Meciel did release his magic that day, both his wand-magic as well as the potent Hellfire.

"I came home late that day and Vernon Dursley, as usual, was pissed off at me and beat me until my arm snapped." He continued softly, ignoring the horrified yet rapt attention of those around him. "And then, he let his son, Dudley Dursley, to use me as a human punching bag while Petunia Dursley merely laughed and shrieked in the background."

"Why I've never-" Flitwick sputtered in outrage. The normally diminutive but cheerful wizard was absolutely seething in righteous fury. "How could he allow his own child to follow his action!"

The rest looked scandalized. Lily closed her eyes tightly and shrank into herself while sobbing miserably. She had a fallout with her older sister after she was accepted into Hogwarts and since then, the relationship between the sisters had turned bitter. Lily had hoped that her sister had let go of her bitterness and hatred but never in her wildest imagination that she expected Petunia to take it out on her defenseless son. It filled her with so much shame and despair that she had been one of the cause of her firstborn's misery. She had failed her duty as a mother, no wonder Aries had all but rejected any ties he had with her.

Aries ignored the dark mutterings and continued on. "I cried out and wished for the pain to be stopped and my magic responded. I blasted that disgusting pig that I had misfortune to call my cousin across the hall. He ran crying like a little bitch to his worthless daddy and Vernon was less than pleased at that."

"An accidental magic. You magic responded to your call to protect you." Dumbledore muttered. "And to throw your cousin away magically such distance at that young age meant that it was rather powerful." He commented softly.

Aries snorted and rolled his eyes. "It wouldn't be the first time that my magic had responded to my distress to protect me." He said bitterly.

"Anyway, that useless Vernon went berserk when he found out that I used magic to protect myself from Dudley by blasting away the little shit that he grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed me in the chest." Aries spat out with murderous expression.

"He stabbed you for protecting yourself?" McGonagall asked with aghast expression.

"The knife actually ended up puncturing my lung and he threw me into my cupboard, giving me concussion and knocking me unconscious." Aries said darkly.

"HOW DARE HE!" James Potter ranted angrily, his voice rising above the horrified gasps and angry mutterings. "HE STABS YOU AND THEN GIVES YOU CONCUSSION?!" He yelled out furiously.

"What do you mean by 'my cupboard' Aries?" Sirius growled. He looked as if he was about jump to his feet like James.

"Those bastards forced me to live in a cupboard under the stairs from the beginning." Aries snarled out as his hands closed into fists.

Everyone was silent for a moment before they started shouting out furiously once more. "They forced you into a cupboard?!"

Albus Dumbledore and Lily Potter bowed their heads in shame as they were the ones who placed him in Dursley's care. It never occurred to them that they might abuse the innocent child.

Fleur gripped her chair tightly until the wood began to groan in protest. Just what had those monsters had done to him? Every action that these Dursleys did sickened her and she couldn't really feel horrified at the fact that he ended up killing them as result, after all, those vicious people deserved their fate after abusing a child like that for years.

"As I lay there dying, my magic reacted and healed my injuries." He continued while his eyes flickered briefly at the Carpenters, silently warning them to keep their silence. "It was during those times when I was hovering over life and death that I began to question myself."

"Why do I have to be treated such way when I have done nothing wrong? Why must I be shackled as a slave when all others remain free? Why do God allow such thing to happen to me?" He continued on ruthlessly as his eyes grew darker and colder with burning fury within him. "I prayed and prayed to the God to rescue me, to my birth parents to come see me and whisk me away from my personal hell and that all this would be nothing more than a nightmare." He spat out with disgust at how foolish he was. He actually wanted James and Lily to see their mistake and take him away when they were the ones who put him there.

James and Lily flinched form every word he spat out and sat dejectedly on their seats as the true horrors of their son's past came out. For nearly 6 years when Aries had been sent to the Dursley's they had never even once seen him, let alone send him birthday cards. They absolutely had no contact with him at all. They truly had abandoned him to his fate and now it was coming back to haunt them.

"When I called out for help, everyone just ignored my pleas and allowed me to suffer at their hands. There were no one to help me, no one to rescue me from them." He continued softly as the occupants in the office stared at him with rapt attention, barely even blinking or breathing. "It was then I realized the truth, nobody cared. I was forsaken. I was alone."

Lily whimpered. "No, you are not alone." James said as his voice shook with emotions. "We care about you. We are your family."

Aries sneered at the man. "I'm no longer the stupid and naive little boy I used to be James Potter. I have a new family now, one that actually loves me." The Potters jerked back and hung their heads in despair while others frowned slightly.

"You renounce the name Potter?" Amanda asked with shock. While she didn't approve of the Potters for their neglect, she still thought that Aries was going too far by burning the bridges completely.

"Are you deaf? I thought I made it clear when I said I never was, never am, and never will be a Potter." He hissed at the girl as she flinched back in fear. Lily and James Potter looked absolutely devastated at their long lost son's decision to cut off any ties he had with them. Sirius couldn't do anything but to look at the situation helplessly while others watched on with grimace.

"What is it that makes me a Potter? My blood? Because it is, then it doesn't mean a thing to me. I raised myself along with my guardian and I was reborn as Angelos." He sneered coldly at them.

Dumbledore frowned. "You mentioned that you had a family and a guardian, would you care to explain more about them?" He asked cautiously.

Amanda and Molly Carpenter looked uncomfortable. "No, you don't need to know anything but the fact that she is everything that I wanted and more." Aries replied with a small genuine smile at the mention of his "guardian."

Albus looked searching at him for long moments before he sighed tiredly. "What happened after you were healed?"

"I discovered my new found power and decided to break the shackles they and the God placed on me." Aries said with a vindictive smile. "The Dursleys needed to pay for their crimes against me."

"So you killed them." Sprout whispered with horrified look.

"If you are going to speak about some bullshit that I should've called the police or handed them over to the law to for justice than don't waste your breath." He snapped angrily when some of those gathered looked as if they wanted to object.

He looked each and every one of them in the eyes and spoke out with deadly intent. "I don't care about justice. What I want is vengeance. I wanted them to suffer for what they had done to me. I wanted to torture them just like they did to me and kill them in most agonizing way possible."

"Then by killing them, you brought yourself low to their level." Headmaster Smith pointed out with as he wheezed.

Aries threw back his head and laughed out. There was no warmth or joy in his voice but dark amusement. "Me, bringing myself low to the level of Dursleys by murdering them?" He chuckled as he shook his head with derision. "Are you saying that I should've let them live?"

"No, what he was saying was that you should've handed them over to the authority for proper procedure. Let them meet justice for their atrocity." Dumbledore said as he looked sadly at the boy before him.

"Let me guess, you are saying that I should've been a better man by doing that stupid bullshit?" Aries sneered at him.

"By committing the evil just like them, you sunk to their level when you could've been better than them." McGonagall said curtly.

"You stupid fools, I am better than them!" Aries snarled out as his aura began to flare once more. "I am much stronger, faster, and smarter than them! I wiped out their very existence by my own hands and I can do things that they can only dream of!"

"But have you not committed an act of evil when you murdered them? The Dursleys committed an act of evil by abusing you and you killed them in retaliation." Smith asked him as he carefully fingered his wand. The boy was far too dangerous and he didn't want to be caught unaware.

"What you are saying is from moral point of view." Aries laughed coldly. "Morality is a useless trash. I discarded that long ago. No, what truly matters is who has the power."

"I am far more powerful and skilled than the Dursleys, therefore I am better than them." Aries continued. "You and the rest of the world may use morality as a measuring stick for greatness but I use power and strength to measure the extent of one's greatness."

"Morality is not a trash. It is through our actions that we become great or not. The decision to do what is right is the sign of one's strength." Dumbledore countered. Twinkles in his eyes had long since faded and his face had hardened considerably.

"And that's just it isn't it? You can try to convince me that your way is the correct way until your face turns blue. However, unless _I_ decide to believe it, it would be worthless. In the end, it all comes down to _my_ decision. _My_ point of view. And things cannot change unless they had _my_ permission." Aries sneered.

"I believe power, intelligence, and cunning is what makes a person great and I'm not going to change that perspective for anyone else. All that matters is what _I_ believe, not what other people think is right." He snapped at them.

"How did you kill them?" Karkaroff asked the young man. He was getting tired of their philosophical argument and it seemed Dumbledore was still a delusional fool. He still believed in those non sense when the boy spoke the truth. He was far more powerful than those filthy muggles and therefore, he was right. Besides, those mudbloods deserved what had happened to them anyway.

Aries took a deep calming breath. It always irked him whenever some idiots sprouted out all those non sense that their views was correct while all others were wrong. What Dumbledore and others preached was nothing more than man-made philosophy while his were the simple laws of nature. Strong survives while the weak perish. Might makes right.

"I killed them one by one. I killed Dudley first so that his bastard parents could watch their son get ripped apart before their eyes. I ripped off his limbs every few minutes to prolong his suffering and my magic ensured that all of them remained conscious until the point of their death. As for the bitch Petunia I grabbed her by the back of her head and bashed her head against the walls until her skull carved in. And for Vernon, that fucking asshole, I made sure to kill him slowly as I ripped him apart. He was missing fingers, toes, hands, and an arm before I burned him alive inside out." Aries said proudly with a bloodthirsty grin.

The Carpenters turned pale but remained still while Fleur Delacour and Maxime blanched from his detailed description. McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout gaped like a fish with look of horror and Dumbledore stiffened and gazed at Aries with a hard look. Karkaroff was quite impressed with the boy's imagination and ruthlessnes. Snape just looked blank but there was a slight surprise in his eyes.

But it was the Potters that truly interested him. Benjamin turned a sickly shade of green while James and Sirius blanched and stared at him with horror, as if they were rooted to their place. Lily, on the other hand, looked as if all strength fled from her body. Her teary eyes were puffy from all the crying and despair and horror radiated from her.

Aries cackled with a touch of insanity. "So Lily, how do you feel now that your precious and long lost son was the one who kill your sister and her family. No, scratch that, I tortured and then killed your bitch of a sister along with her family." He mockingly taunted her. "How do you feel now that your sister and her family was not what you expected them to be and was the reason why I turned so vindictive? Hmmm?"

"I told you Albus that he's a dark wizard." Alastor Moody grunted out after the silence he held throughout the whole story.

"Ho-How could you do something so evil?" McGonagall stammered as she clutched her chest from feeling faint.

In response Aries only laughed coldly as a blazing dark aura envelopes his body. "You know, the famous muggle playwright, William Shakespeare uttered an answer for that particular question."

"There is no good or evil, but thinking makes it so." He whispered, not noticing the growing horror in the eyes of some of his audience. "There is only power and those too weak to seek it." With a crazed look in his glowing emerald green eyes as his aura grew darker and darker and wave of power started rolling off him.

Aries chuckled darkly before giving them a cold smile that could've frozen a erupting volcano. "You know, Vernon Dursley asked the same thing as you did before I burned him alive. His sister, Marge Dursley, also said the same thing before I fed her to the lions in Africa so I'll tell you the exact same words I told them before I butchered them."

Aries paused for dramatic effect before softly speaking them to the silent audience, pouring all his dark intent and malice into it just as he did all those years ago. "You reap what you've sown. Blood for blood. Debt for debt. And evil for evil."

Lily Potter, unable to cope with all that she had learned about her son, finally fainted and sagged against her husband. "Lily!" James cried out. Fumbling from the shock, he waved his wand over Lily's prone body and stuttered out "E-Enervate!"

Lily awoke with a groan and sagged tiredly in James' arms. The Flitwick threw her a concerned look while others remained silent as they grimly processed what they had learned.

"And what happened next Mr. Angelos?" Dumbledore asked as he tiredly rubbed his eyes.

Aries shrugged. "I raised myself in the streets." He answered simply. When he didn't answer any further Dumbledore turned to the foreign guests.

"Ms. Delacour and Ms. Carpenter, you both said you knew him, how did you come across him?" The old wizard asked curiously while the Potters seemed to sit up little straight despite the misery and despair they were feeling at the moment.

" Eet waz nearly 6 years ago when I first met 'im in France. I was kidnapped by slave traders along with ozzer women when 'ee saved me." Fleur answered with a shrug but there was a slight tremor in her voice that none but Dumbledore, Maxime and Aries recognized.

Dumbledore nodded his head in silent thanks while the quarter-Veela looked at her savior with gratefulness.

"And you Ms. Carpenter? You said that he was the one who brought you here and your older sister said that he was a family acquaintance." Dumbledore asked.

Aries glared at them, silently warning them to reveal as little information as possible. "A-An evil man is trying to kill my family. He already sent out several assassins but Aries stopped them." Amanda hesitantly spoke out.

"And who is this man Ms. Carpenter?" Dumbledore asked.

"His name is Nicodemus." Molly Carpenter answered when her younger sister nervously bit her lips and glanced at the silent Denarian.

"I'm afraid I do not know him." He frowned.

"He is very powerful and sent out several muggle assassins and wand-wizards to kill my family." Molly said grimly. The thought of her family so close to being dead still unnerved her greatly.

"How did you meet Mr. Angelos here?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"Well-"

"It was in Israel." Aries answered curtly, cutting across the response. It might be best for him to answer the question himself as he would have the flow of information and prevent them from learning anything he didn't want them to know.

"Israel? What were you doing in Israel?" Sirius blurted out while the rest looked curiously at him.

"I didn't just stay in England. I travelled around the world." Aries answered blandly with a shrug.

"And what were you doing there?" Dumbledore asked as he closely regarded him.

"Had something to pick up." Aries replied vaguely. "I happened to cross the Carpenters while I was leaving."

Dumbledore frowned at the vague answer and was about to ask another question when Aries cut him off. "As interesting as my past is, can we focus on the present? I destroyed the cup and I need to catch whoever responsible."

The old wizard sat thinking pensively as he looked for the best way to approach the problem. "The boy is a murderer Albus," Mad-Eye Moody grunted out as his spinning eye focused on him. "I say we throw him in Azkaban-"

"No! He will not be going to Azkaban Mad-Eye!" James snapped at the ex-Auror angrily.

"Have you forgotten that you are an Auror Potter?" Snape sneered at him. "He did murder his relatives in cold blood regardless of the reason."

"But Aries is a tournament champion! His name came out of the Goblet!" Sirius snarled back at the greasy haired potion master.

"Enough!" Dumbledore barked and quickly silenced any argument from taking place.

"His name came out of the Goblet and there is no denying that he is a champion." Dumbledore said thoughtfully as he reviewed the situation. "He will have to compete and stay at Hogwarts until the tournament ends."

"I don't think so Dumbledore. I destroyed the Goblet and freed myself from the magical contract. There is no need for me to participate in it or stay here for that matter." He sneered at him.

"Perhaps. While you did destroy the Goblet, magical contract will not disappear just because the object binding it is destroyed. I'm afraid you'll have to compete." Dumbledore answered apologetically.

_'I believe he has a point. While the power behind the contract may have been weakened considerably, it's far too difficult to destroy it entirely by destroying the Goblet that bind you to it.'_ Meciel murmured once more. _'The contract's purpose was to see the chosen to compete till the end.'_

Aries growled irritably. "This is fucking annoying! I don't want to compete in this shitty tournament!" He snapped angrily.

Some looked disapprovingly at his use of profanity and the lack of respect at the revered tradition but he didn't really give a crap about what anyone else thought.

"But why stay at Hogwarts?" He asked the old wizard as he gripped the handle of Judgement.

"The tournament is held in Hogwarts and if you move too far from the designated place, you will feel pain because of the penalty placed within the magical contract." Dumbledore explained.

"I don't think so old man. I destroyed the Goblet and I'm not feeling the magical backlash like others here." He tilted his head to Fleur Delacour and Benjamin Potter. "Besides, when I first felt the magical pull, I never allowed it to bind me so I'm not as bound like the others."

"But your name still came out of the Goblet." Benjamin grunted with slight pain.

"And where is my name? I never have given anyone in England my full name." He snapped with irritation.

Dumbledore reached into his robes and pulled out a small piece of burnt parchment before levitating it toward him. Aries took it from the air and read the name inside.

Aries Potter.

Aries snorted. "It says Aries Potter, not Aries Angelos and it certainly didn't include my middle name. I legally changed my name years ago and in order to be fully bound to a magical contract, it needs to have the correct full name of a person."

"You legally changed your name?" Sirius questioned with startled expression.

Aries nodded distractedly. "Don't ask me how, I'm not going to explain." He grunted.

He pondered thoughtfully before reaching his conclusion. "I may be magically bound to compete in this blasted tournament but I doubt I would feel pain when I get out of Hogwarts. I was nearly half-way around the world from England when I first felt the pull and it didn't pain me at all, just slight annoyance."

Dumbledore absorbed his reason silently before nodding in acceptance. "Be that as it may, it would be easier if you stayed in Hogwarts, both to compete in the tournament and to find the culprit responsible." He said diplomatically.

"Wait a minute! You are giving Hogwarts unfair advantage! Hogwarts already have 2 extra champions, you don't need another!" Karkaroff accused Dumbledore.

Dumbledore shook his head as his silver beard followed his movement. "No, Aries will still be representing only himself and not Hogwarts even if he is enrolled into Hogwarts. As for Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom, they will also be representing themselves." He calmly explained.

That seemed to mollify Karkaroff and other foreign delegations. Aries silent went over Dumbledore proposition with Meciel.

_'It does seem like the best choice we have at the moment. If we are going to catch the culprit, it will be easier if we operate inside the castle as no doubt he or she is still here or will show up eventually.'_ Meciel advised him.

Aries seethed inwardly but agreed with her, albeit reluctantly. This was the most logical choice they had and it would be foolish of him to let his emotion get better of him and butch up the situation.

_'You are learning well Aries.'_ Meciel chuckled.

_'This is going to be a major pain in the ass.' _He grumbled mentally. _'I better let Dresden know of this.'_

_'And don't forget Nightfang. He's going to be pissed if you don't go get him.'_ Meciel sniggered when he let out a groan. The Diamondback had a rather foul mouth and was able to hiss out string of profanities with surprising ease that never ceased to impress him.

"Fine I'll enroll into Hogwarts." Aries grunted out, cutting across the conversation. "But don't expect me to follow the rules. I'll be here for only a year until this blasted tournament is over."

When a he caught a flicker of concern in Dumbledore's eyes he rolled his eyes. "I won't kill anyone except for the culprit. Although I _will_ respond with lethal force if anyone pisses me off. Warn your students to not piss me off and we'll be fine."

"I hope you won't have to resort to violence." Dumbledore said warily.

"The only one who will be dying is the culprit. He signed his life off the moment he fucked with me." He snapped at him. "As for students, I won't kill them, although I will roughen them up if they bother me."

"He's a dark wizard Dumbledore! And you're going to let him loose in a school!" Moody snapped at the old wizard.

"Alastor, whatever problem he caused in the past can be dealt with after the tournament. Until then, Aries Angelos will have to stay here." He said sternly.

Moody grunted but backed down reluctantly. With a flick of his wand, a dusty looking pointed hat that had been sitting on the top of the shelves floated down.

Aries gazed at it warily. "And what is that supposed to be?"

"This is the Sorting Hat." Dumbledore answered simply. "It sorts you into one of the 4 houses of Hogwarts."

"And how does it do that?" Aries asked flatly.

"It talks in your head." Amanda answered him. "It judges your personality."

"Judges my personality?" Aries frowned.

"There are 4 houses in Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each houses have their traits and the Hat picks your most dominant one. Gryffindor is the house of brave and noble heart, Hufflepuff is the house of loyal and hard work, Ravenclaw is the house of intelligence and sharp wit, and Slytherin is the house of cunning and ambition." McGonagall informed him crisply.

"What I want to know is how." Aries snapped impatiently.

"It looks through your mind." Amanda answered with hesitation, knowing how dangerous and important his secret was.

"No. There is no way that I'm allowing anything or anyone to look through my head." Aries snarled angrily. "My mind is the only sanctuary I have and I won't allow anyone to go through it"

"I would appreciate it if you didn't talk as if I wasn't here." A voice grumbled out.

Aries watched with slight surprise as the old hat came to life. Its folds moving as they were lips. "I am oath bound to never share anything I find in a student's mind with anyone else." The Hat grunted.

"That's not good enough for me." Aries snorted. "I need more assurance than that. Make a Thrice-Bound Oath."

Dumbledore and Molly Carpenter looked at him sharply, both being aware of the Rules of the Old World and knew how important the Thrice-Bound Oath was.

"Swear by your name, your blood, and your magic to never reveal any information you find in my head in any shape or form, directly or indirectly." He said coolly while eyeing the Hat. "But seeing as you're a hat and have no blood, swear by Dumbledore's left butt cheek." He said stoically.

Amanda chocked and Dumbledore looked mildly surprised while others gaped at his audacity. "Why by the Merlin's saggy balls would I swear by Dumbledore's left butt cheek?" The Hat grunted.

"So that if you break your oath, his left butt cheek will be blown off." He grunted back.

The Hat let out a raucous laughter at his demand. "This kid got some balls Dumbledore. No one had ever demanded that from me in my nearly thousand years of existence!"

The Hat regarded him for a moment before giving the oath. "I, the Sorting Hat, swear by my name, my magic and Dumbledore's left butt cheek to never reveal the information I find in Aries Angelos' mind in any shape or form, directly or indirectly." The Hat finished the oath and a bright light surrounded the magical artifact before fading away, signifying the oath.

Dumbledore lifted the Hat and gently lowered it onto his head. However, it was too big and almost fell over his eyes as he sat still. Suddenly, he felt something foreign slide into his mind and reacted instinctively as he raised his natural mental defense to block out the foreign intrusion.

_'Calm down Mr. Angelos, it's I, the Sorting Hat.'_ The voice grumbled irritably.

Aries reluctantly lowered his mental barrier and squirmed uncomfortably in his seat as he allowed the Hat to shift through his head. It wasn't long before the Hat encountered the Fallen living in his head. Immediately, hellfire blazed in his mind and the searing power flowed throughout his being as Meciel enveloped the intruder. Her very presence rushed forward and captured the Hat in its place and Aries could barely stop himself from reeling from her awesome power. The Hat seemed to give a twitch of pain as the dark power trapped it.

_**'Remember your oath!' **_Meciel thundered. Her usual soft voice was now majestic and terrifying all at once that both the Hat and the Denarian shivered. _**'If so much as a peep escapes from you, I WILL BURN YOU TO ASH!'**_

With her warning given, Meciel withdrew her presence and the hellfire but observed the shaking Hat like a hawk.

_'A-A De-Denarian! You are an Accursed Host!'_ Hat stammered with fear. _'I have looked into the mind of Amanda Carpenter but never knew that you would be one of them!'_

_'Will you shut up?'_ Aries hissed at it with annoyance. _'Your babbling is irritating.'_

The Hat seemed to hyperventilate but did cease its mindless babbling. _'Good. Now do your job and sort me and remember, you are under a magical oath.' _Aries said coldly.

The Hat slowly calmed down until it wasn't shivering in fear anymore spoke quietly_. 'I have gleaned much knowledge from Amanda Carpenter's mind but never expected that you would be one of them. Do I have your permission to continue?'_ The Hat spoke warily.

_'Just don't look too deep, or there will be a consequence.'_ Aries warned the magical artifact.

Slowly, almost reluctantly, the Hat began to shift through his head, glancing through them and not too deeply. Beginning from his life with Dursleys, his meeting with Meciel and his subsequent achievements all the way up to his memory of duel against Dumbledore.

_'You lead an interesting life Mr. Angelos.'_ Hat commented. _'I have never sorted anyone else like you and I have no doubt this would be my first and last time.'_

Aries snorted_. 'That would be an understatement of the century.' _He replied back dryly.

_'You are difficult. Very difficult, in fact. You possess every trait from each of the 4 houses and yet, contract them at the same time.'_ The Hat deduced after few moments. _'You are a living and walking contradiction.'_

_'You possess the bravery and courage of Gryffindor. You have faced things that mortals could only imagine and fought them without much fear. Vampires, Basilisk, Denarians, and other beings of darkness do not terrify you, in fact, you thrive in deadly challenges and face them head on while others can only cower in fear. Your balls are so big that the Fate granted a Fallen Angel to carry it around. While courageous, you are not reckless like most Gryffindors and never take any unnecessary risks. And yet, you lack the chivalry and noble intention of the Gryffindor, which is hardly surprising considering your past experiences. You see them as nothing but weakness and are willing to do whatever it takes to win, regardless of how evil or dark it may be.'_ The Hat analyzed.

_'Well that sounds spot on. Have you ever considered becoming a psychologist? Magical world could seriously need a magical psychologist like you. There far too many fucked up nutjobs in the magical world.' _He thought back dryly.

Ignoring his jib, the Hat continued on. _'As for Hufflepuff traits, it's far more complicated than others. You are extremely loyal to those who have gained your trust, mainly the Fallen that lives inside your head, almost to the point of being called fanatical. Other than her, you are extremely distrustful of any and all others to the point of being paranoid. You are well versed in the art of cutthroat business where trust is nonexistent. As for hard work, you are lazy and have a slacker attitude but can also be very diligent if the subject interests you.'_

_'Well I suppose you are lazy.'_ Meciel quipped much to Aries' annoyance. _'but you are rather a hard working when you are interested. You learned to harness hellfire within a year and a half and mastered variety of powerful spells very quickly.'_

_'What? I like being powerful. Besides, you are the best teacher I have.'_ Aries smiled slightly.

_'Moving on. You possess the thirst for knowledge of Ravenclaw as well as their sharp wit. You seek any and all knowledge that can be of use to you and are a meticulous planner. You do not charge into a situation headfirst like most Gryffindors but rather observe the situation and gather all possible facts before making the most logical choice. You remain cool-headed no matter how dire and dangerous the situation gets. As for your wit, you posses one of the sharpest mind I have encountered. You have an equally sharp tongue along with sardonic attitude only matched by your ability to insult others. However, you seek knowledge not for itself but for rather what it can bring you later on and are not as studious like most Ravenclaws.'_ Said the Hat.

_'Oh goodie, you are not insulting me as much.' _He thought back sarcastically. The Hat merely chuckled, which irritated him further.

_'And lastly, you have the cunning and ambition of the Slytherin. You are manipulative and can easily see through any deception with ease thanks to your Fallen as well as your telepathic ability. Your time with Faes and White Court Vampires have forced you to become even more cunning than you once was. Your battles with the darkness proved that you use your mind as much as your dark power. You trick, cheat, lie, and exploit any and all weaknesses in your enemies to kill them and will use whatever means necessary to achieve your goals. Your hunger for power led you to becoming a Denarian and you regret nothing. You value power above everything else and will stop at nothing to obtain it. Also, you possess the resourcefulness and the ruthlessness needed to achieve your goals. You never stick to one set of belief or tactic and adapt to changing situations rather quickly and are almost brutally efficient. You have already killed and slaughtered all those who have caused you pain and will eliminate any and all threats to you no matter what. Also, you are a Parslemouth.'_ The Hat finished analyzing him.

_'Well that was one hell of mental therapy.'_ Aries drawled lazily. _'In fact, I'd say it was the best I ever had.'_

_'Beloved, that was the only mental therapy you had.'_ Meciel said dryly. _'Has it ever occurred to you that you might be a sociopath?'_

_'Oh please, I'll have you know that my mind is perfectly sane!'_ Aries snorted. _'And this is coming from a Fallen who have been inside the heads of crazy nutjobs.'_

_'If I remember correctly, some of your previous hosts included an emo carnivore who ended up eating one of his arm and soon after drowned himself or that really kinky bitch who thought using herself as a fuel in Walpurgis night would be a great idea.' _He thought dryly.

_'Touche. Those were just some of the hosts I have taken over the centuries.'_ Meciel sighed_. 'And you have no idea how disturbing some of them were.'_

_'Wow. Compare to them, I'm pretty much normal.'_ He thought. _'It's ok Meciel, I'll make you feel all right again.'_ He soothed her gently.

He felt Meciel pulse with amusement and Sorting Hat cleared its throat. _'I believe I still need to sort you Mr. Angelos, others are getting impatient.'_

_'Right, well I think I know which house I'm going to be in.'_ Aries thought back, he had almost forgotten about the Hat.

_'Whichever house I put you in, you'll no doubt cause chaos. However, you'll do the best in...'_ The Hat grumbled.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Aries hastily took off the Hat as he didn't want anything in his mind other than Meciel. Opening his eyes, he saw that Potters, the staffs and Dumbledore looked rather shocked although the old wizard quickly hid it.

"A Potter in Slytherin." James mumbled in disbelief. Lily looked shocked as did Sirius and McGonagall seemed to have lost her stern demeanor momentarily. Snape, on the other hand, was sickly pale and looked as if the world had turned upside down.

"I knew it! You are a dark wizard to be sorted into Slytherin!" A loud voice broke through the shocked silence.

"Benjamin!" Lily snapped at her impetuous son.

Aries ignored the worthless idiot and quirked his eyebrow. "Why do you look so surprised? I mean it was so obvious that I would end up in the house of cunning and ambitious considering my past."

"Well it's just that Potters were always sorted into Gryffindor." Albus said hesitantly.

"You mean the house of cannon folders where you charge into a situation blindly?" Aries asked with a frown. No wonder his biological family were bunch of pan-brained morons. McGonagall's nostrils flared at the insult and Dumbledore looked disapprovingly at him, not that he cared.

"Gryffindor is a noble house of bravery and chivalry." Sirius admonished him.

Aries sneered at them. "Then it's a good thing that I'm a Angelos not a Potter. I didn't survive this long by being reckless and chivalry is worthless thing I threw away long ago." He snapped.

"Now if you don't mind, it's been a long day and I would like to sleep." He grunted.

Dumbledore nodded tiredly. "I believe we should retire for tonight and continue tomorrow."

One by one, the group left in twos or threes and Aries remained silently in his seat as they all slowly left.

"Ms. Carpenter, if you would stay for a moment along with Mr. Angelos here?" Dumbledore asked the taller of the blonde politely. She looked slightly surprised and nodded in confirmation.

.oOo.

After everyone but the two had left, Dumbledore turned his blue gaze upon them once more. Silence permeated the office until the old wizard asked the question Aries knew it was coming. "How did you know about Fawkes Mr. Angelos?'

"Like I said Dumbledore, you aren't the only wand-wizard to know about the Faes." Aries said blandly.

"Then I assume that you know Ms. Carpenter uses the true-magic?" He raised his eyebrows.

Aries nodded. Dumbledore silently regarded him for few moments. "I have a gift of feeling auras Mr. Angelos and I'm taking a great risk by allowing you to stay at Hogwarts." He began and Aries narrowed his eyes slightly as he realized where this was going. "Your aura was one of the darkest I came across. I came across only 2 other auras just as dark as yours, they were Grindelwald's and Voldemort's."

Aries didn't bet an eye and kept his relaxed appearance. "Your point?" He asked.

"It's impossible for one to reach such level of darkness unless one is uses Dark Arts all the times or have performed extremely dark rituals on themselves." Dumbledore said with a hard face. "And during our duel, you threw curses that were very dark and quite illegal in many countries around the world."

Aries smiled coldly. "I freely admit that I'm a dark wizard. They are powerful, so I use them." He shrugged despite the way Dumbledore stiffened slightly at his own admission.

"And yet, it is strange for someone so young to reach such level. In some ways, you felt even darker than either Grindelwald or Voldemort. I can tell that your darkness is not same as theirs, it felt more ancient. As if it was... something unnatural." He confessed quietly as he gazed intensely at him.

Molly remained in her seat as she watched two powerful wizards gauge one another. "And you are asking me this because?" Aries asked blandly.

"The school is my responsibility and I cannot let you enter without knowing that you won't harm the students or what you are capable of." Dumbledore said quietly.

Aries stubbornly kept his silence as his dark, piercing emerald eyes clashed against hard blue eyes of Dumbledore. Molly sighed as she rubbed her forehead. It has been a long night and she wanted to rest and wasn't in the mood for any more drama.

"Just tell him about it Angelos." Molly tiredly sighed."I'm tired and want to rest, the sooner this ends the better."

Aries glared at her but she ploughed on. "He is one of the few wand-wizards who knows about the true-magic." She pointed out.

"The subject doesn't belong with the true-magic." Aries snapped at her. "The fewer people who knows my secret the better."

Molly glared right back at him before flickering her eyes toward the interest looking Dumbledore. "I doubt he would go around spilling the secret. Besides, you are under Dresden's employment and work with my dad, somewhat."

Aries silently glared at her. He absolutely didn't want to let Dumbledore know about Meciel. During the short time he dueled against him, Aries could tell that he was indeed very skilled and it infuriated him to admit that he would've lost eventually if they kept dueling. He had gotten lucky because of the advantage of surprise and the fact that Dumbledore was holding back in case the students were harmed. Not to mention, Dumbledore was in rather high position of power.

_'I don't think we have much choice in this matter. While you may be a Denarian, you are working with the Knights of Cross and are trying to eliminate the Order of Blackened Denarius.'_ Meciel whispered as ancient fury and hatred welled up within her at the mention of the blackened order. _'If anything, he wouldn't bother us until the Order is eliminated.'_

Aries heaved a sigh and grimaced as he looked at Dumbledore, who was patiently waiting for him to make his decision.

"What do you know of the Denarians and the Order of Blackened Denarius?" He asked quietly.

Dumbledore frowned as he stood up and strode over to one of the bookshelves. He withdrew a thick looking tome that looked very ancient judging by the state of papers. He flipped it open and the pages rustled against each other as Dumbledore scanned for the information. As soon as he read the first sentence, his face paled as the blood drained from his head. His shoulders sagged as if the world pressed down on him and he seemed to age a century.

When the old wizard turned to look at him, his eyes were devoid of twinkles he had.

"Oh Aries, what have you to yourself?" He murmured hoarsely with shock and horror. His eyes radiated sadness and he looked closely at the Denarian before him, as if searching for the boy he once was.

"Don't you dare give me that look of pity!" He snarled furiously and Dumbledore looked rather taken back at his vehemence. "I am happy with the fact that I'm a Denarian and I have no regrets! Meciel is everything that I wanted and more!"

Dumbledore shifted only slightly and looked warily at him, as if to defend himself from the Denarian's attack in a moment's notice. As the old headmaster gazed at him, his eyes grew wide with horror.

"You weren't forced to take up the coin. You chose to become a Denarian." He whispered with horror.

"Obviously." Aries snorted. "I already had this conversation several times in the past Dumbledore and Carpenters were one of them. I will never let go of Meciel, not ever. I love her and I will kill anyone who dares to take her away from me." He hissed as his eyes glinted with the dark intentions.

Dumbledore sat still and took off his half-moon glasses with tiredness, looking every bit old as his age suggested.

"I assume this happened right before the incident with the Dursleys?" He asked with weariness.

"I came across her coin an hour before I killed them." He said curtly. "It wasn't the magic that saved my life, it was Meciel. If I hadn't accepted her offer, I most likely would've died from my wounds." He grunted out.

Dumbledore sighed and nodded his head. "I think this is more than enough for tonight. We'll continue this tomorrow."

With that he called a house elf to escort them to the temporary guest rooms. As the door to his office closed shut, he leaned back onto his chair and let out a deep sigh while the phoenix let out a soft trill as if to comfort his partner.

Albus smiled tiredly at the Summer Fae. "Thank you my friend."

As he stood up slowly to finally sleep, Albus couldn't help but to feel numb as he went over the day's event. So much had happened in a span of mere hours and it would change the very course of fate.

Albus Dumbledore knew without a doubt that Aries Angelos would undoubtedly be the deciding factor in the war against Voldemort, and perhaps even the world.

A new player had entered the game.

* * *

**Damn, that was by far the longest chapter I wrote. I'm not sure if I'm quite satisfied with the chapter and may go back and edit it. I'll let you guys know when it happens.**


	14. Ministry Confrontation

**Sorry for the wait, it's been nearly a month since I updated the story. I had difficulty writing out this chapter. I have a general plotline for the future but Aries' interaction with Hogwarts but it is more difficult than I imagined.**

* * *

**Ministry Confrontation**

The following morning brought much consternation to the inhabitants of the castle since the last night's fiasco was still very fresh in their minds. It wasn't until nearly 10 in the morning when the people began to appear in the Great Hall, vast majority of them rubbing their eyes sleepily or letting out a yawn as they trudged to the tables for the breakfast. It was quite a blessing that it was weekend, which allowed them to sleep in rather late considering that nearly all of them had hardly a wink of sleep as they chattered the night away discussing the spectacular entrance and even more shocking revelation of a certain enigma.

The ceiling of the Hall was now open to the sky and many gazed at it with trepidation and curiosity at the extent of damage. The ceiling was completely blown off and filled the Hall with the morning sun and cool breeze.

The first to arrive were the Hogwarts students as they half consciously made their way into the Hall, trudging their feet unceremoniously. Even the usually tidy Slytherins walked into the Hall without their usual strict discipline considering that many of them continued to let out a yawn. Next to arrive were the foreign delegations, as they too, walked tiredly into the Hall.

The sleepy murmurs slowly faded away as more and more students began to regain their consciousness and it soon gave away to excitable chatters as they discussed the last night's fiasco. There were wild speculations flying left and right regarding the mystery only known as Aries Potter, or Aries Angelos as he preferred. Unfortunately for them, the people they wanted to question the most, Benjamin Potter, Fleur Delacour, Amanda Carpenter, and Aries Angelos himself, were notably absent.

As much as they wanted to grill them for information, none wanted to face the wrath of Madam Pomfrey, who was known throughout the school for her near-obsessive care for her patients. As far as they knew, the champions were all resting in the Hospital Wing due to the magical backlash caused by the Goblet's forceful destruction. None had seen any professors since the last night and they merely left a note to their students instructing them to carry on as usual as they will eventually explain the situation.

At that moment, the door opened and the staffs led by Albus Dumbledore, walked into the Hall and all the chatters stopped as the students looked intently at the adults. Dumbledore merely smiled the same grandfatherly smile and led the group to the recently repaired staff table where they sat down. However, the headmaster remained standing and chuckled at the undisguised look of curiosity in students' faces.

"Good morning everyone." Dumbledore began cheerfully with a twinkle in his eyes. "I have no doubt that many of you are rather curious of what had happened last night."

The Hall buzzed with excitement as he calmly waited for the noise to die down. " The rumors are running wild and we have decided to officially tell you some of the basic facts. As you know, I and the rest of the staff have spoke with Mr. Angelos last night and have confirmed that he is indeed our last champion. He is currently resting in a guest room and will rejoin us within few days. As for the rest of the champions, they are resting in the Hospital Wing and will be released once they have recovered from the magical backlash. As for the ceiling of the Hall, Ministry construction workers will be arriving this afternoon to fix the damage." He concluded.

As soon as he sat down, the students immediately began to excitedly chatter regarding the newest piece of information. Albus Dumbledore chuckled quietly at the excitement that hung over the Hall while Severus Snape scowled at the amount of noise they were making. However, the twinkles in his eyes faded as he replayed the last night's revelation. Shocking, would be an understatement of the chaos he felt when the truth had come out, it felt as if his entire world had turned upside down. Aries Angelos was nothing like he had imagined.

First, he turns up alive after nearly 14 years of absence and destroyed the Goblet of Fire after dueling him to a standstill. Then came his dark past and his status as a Denarian. It was shocking enough that he was aware of the Faes and true-magic but never in millions of years had he expected him to have become the host of Fallen, willingly. Of course, there was also the shocking turn of events of his sorting. Who would've thought that a Potter would be sorted into Slytherin?

But then again, it was hardly surprising considering his past experiences. He was frequently abused by the Dursleys much to his and Lily's everlasting regret and his talks with Severus over the years have informed him that children with experiences similar to Aries' often ended up in Slytherin. They had never suspected that Petunia's hatred of anything magic would extend to the child and was responsible for his past. The way he gleefully admitted his murder of Dursleys was by far the most disturbing piece of information as he absolutely felt no remorse or regret at murdering his abusive relatives. He had taken up the silver Denarius coin and willingly became a being of darkness and _reveled_ in its power. The way he ruthlessly used Dark Arts without hesitation, his cold hatred against the Potters, and utterly unrepentant attitude only served to add to his growing headache.

He reminded him far too much of another student he knew, the one that was also so full of rage, hunger, and hatred. He reminded him far too much of Tom Marvolo Riddle, or more commonly known as Voldemort than he liked. Both were very powerful for their age and hated him, one for standing in his way and the other for placing him with the Dursleys. They were both dark but Aries Angelos was far from being a human, he was a Denarian and in some ways far darker than Voldemort could ever be. And lastly, they were both sorted into Slytherin and it filled him with gnawing anxiety as he mentally replayed the situation in his head. Will Aries Angelos follow the footsteps of Voldemort?

.oOo.

The said person, however, was currently sleeping away the morning in the bed as he snoozed peacefully. Few moments later, the eyelids opened slightly to reveal piercing emerald orbs before closing again as he rolled to his side, and away from the sunlit window with a lazy groan.

_'It's time to awake Aries.'_ A soft, melodious voice whispered in his mind as he groaned in protest.

With a sigh, the messy haired teenager reluctantly rose from the bed and let out a wide yawn as he stretched like a cat after a nap_. 'I hate mornings.'_ Aries thought grumpily as he made his way toward the bathroom for a shower.

_'It's nearly 10:30 and not exactly early in the morning.'_ Meciel drawled as she mentally shook her head at the lazy and grumpy attitude her host showed each morning. _'I really should've been more firm with you during your childhood. I have a feeling that I rather spoiled you too much.'_ She murmured amusedly.

_'You know, I can wake up early but I always need special help from Sephiria.'_ Aries retorted with a leering grin. _'You can always take her place seeing as she isn't always around me.'_ He wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

Meciel sighed and Aries smirked in silent victory_. 'Anyway, we should retrieve few things from our apartment since we'll be living here for a while.'_ Meciel murmured as her host allowed the water from shower stall to wash over him.

_'And then there is another meeting with the wand-wizards this evening.' _Aries mentally grumbled as he finished his shower and began to dress himself. _'Oh joy.'_

Meciel was silent as she contemplated the issue. _'I don't know why they would request another meeting when we already had it last night.'_

Aries frowned as he secured Judgement on his back. _'Do you think they are up to something? I mean, I did win their sympathies somewhat so that would prevent them from moving against us directly.' _He said as Meciel contemplated the evening's meeting. By telling them his "sad sob story," he was able to sway them to his favor somewhat and prevent them from antagonizing him too much.

People these days were so dumb, all it takes is a sob story and they fall for the hook, line, and the sinker. While he certainly didn't enjoy spilling out his secrets, he at least, had the pleasantries of seeing the look of guilt and despair in Potters' faces. Their misery fueled his cruel ecstasy and it somewhat compensated for his distaste for bringing out his secrets.

_'I'm not too sure but one thing I know for sure is that Ministry will try to somehow intervene in our lives.'_ Meciel said distastefully at the thought of those foolish, weak, and pathetic wand-wizards trying to interfere with their lives. Just like any governments, the Ministry of Magic will take interest in special cases like this one and will undoubtedly be _very_ interested once they find out the extent of their secrets as well as their power. They would seek to study them and if possible, try to turn them into their loyal stooge or make a super soldier out of them. Of course, the chance of that happening was almost nothing next to zero considering how powerful they were. Not to mention, Aries had took on more powerful and insidious foes than mere humans, namely Denarians. If they tried to interfere, they would only face their destruction.

Aries was silent for a moment as he thought of all the possibilities that might occur. _'If anyone comes after us, I will destroy them I always have done.'_ He thought darkly. No one will stand in his way.

Without another word, Aries Angelos quickly dressed himself and stalked out of Hogwarts using Disillusionment charm before pulling out a small parchment. Pointing his wand toward the piece of paper, he muttered out the spell. _"Portus."_

There was a small flash of blue light and the Denarian vanished as the portkey activated.

.oOo.

Meanwhile, the Potters sat in their room while they blankly stared down at their plates with misery, with what had happened last night they didn't want to be present at the Hall along with others. Last night had literally turned their life upside down. Their long lost son turned up unexpected in Hogwarts to destroy the Goblet of Fire of all things and dueled Dumbledore as well as nearly killing everyone in the Hall with the following explosion after he cut the cup in half. However, the biggest shock was his attitude which cut into their heart deeply.

Lily had always imagined what it would be like to be reunited with her son. Sure, she expected him to be somewhat angry and bitter when they went back to reclaim him once he reached the age of eleven but he would eventually understand that it was for the best. It would be like one of those heartfelt moment as James and Benjamin would welcome him back with open arms and Aries would smile and hug them back while she would watch with a smile on her face.

That was the dream she had been hoping to see. However, all that changed once her sister's home burned down along with everyone inside. She had literally broken down and cried her hearts out that night at the loss of her sister and her firstborn child. When it was discovered that Aries' corpse wasn't among the dead, it filled her with desperate hope and she, along with everyone she could think of, searched for her son days and nights. But as the times went by, she began to lose her hope and after several years of no results, the search was called off and Aries James Potter was declared missing or dead.

During the following months, she had hit her rock bottom and she moaned for the loss of her son. Amongst the misery, she had plenty of times to review her mistakes and the feeling of regret that accompanied her sought to drown her into insanity. Lily finally realized how much of a failure she had been as a mother. She and James had been so caught up with the fame of her second son that they had completely ignored the duty of their parenthood and sent her firstborn away when they should've loved them equally. It took the loss of their firstborn son to finally knock some sense into her and James and it shamed her and filled her with regret. It was only through the presence of James, Benjamin and her friends that she was able to move on eventually.

But it was not so. After nearly 8 years of absence, Aries reappeared once more and with a bang. When Albus had whispered out his name from the parchment that shot out from the cup, it was almost too much to bear. She, along with James, had almost given up hope and now there was a real possibility that Aries might be alive. The following days nearly drove her insane with anxiety and flimsy hope that James had to stun her periodically so that she wouldn't break down from the pressure.

And then, came the yesterday night when he finally reappeared. After nearly 14 years since they had placed him with the Dursleys that she finally beheld the image of her son once more. The last time she had seen him was when he was but a mere baby with James' messy black hair and bright green eyes like hers. The person who stood before her was no longer a child but a growing young man. He was stood bit taller than his peers with same messy black hair that nearly reached down to his cheeks and lithe frame with a slight hint of muscles underneath the clothes.

However, it was his eyes that had changed the most. Before, it used to be so bright with happiness, joy and innocence with a permanent, mischievous grin that reminded her of James. His eyes were almond shaped like hers but now, those same eyes were so cold, so devoid of life and innocence she had known from him and the color of his emerald eyes had darkened considerably than her own. His gaze was so cold and piercing that she unconsciously flinched every time she met his eyes. They no longer spoke of joy, love and innocence but burning hatred, cold disdain, and absolute fury.

The sharp words he threw at her after nearly 14 years, cut into her deeply and before she knew it, they were in Dumbledore's office. It was there when the true extent of horrors came out. Not only had her sister abused Aries, she did everything she could to make him suffer. Lily knew their relationship turned bitter the moment she accepted Hogwarts' acceptance letter but she never knew how far her hatred went.

When Aries gleefully admitted that he murdered the Dursleys by his own hand, Lily nearly suffered the mental breakdown from the shock. He was not what she had expected. Instead of the heartwarming reunion she had envisioned, she had gotten cruel words and burning hatred from her own son. The amount of hatred and rage he exhibited by Aries, combined with her guilt at her failure as a mother, completely broke her heart.

Aries, her own child, didn't want anything to do with her and even went as far as to denounce the Potter name.

"Lily?" A tentative voice broke through her thoughts.

Turning her head, she met the concerned gaze of her husband. James looked as if he had aged several years in one night and he squeezed her hands. "I've been thinking James." Lily whispered as she felt her eyes tear up. "What if Aries doesn't want anything to do with us?"

James swallowed heavily as he wiped away her tears. "Then we'll just have to beg for his forgiveness again and again no matter how long it takes. I know we don't deserve it but we'll always love him no matter what." He whispered sadly.

Lily choked a sob and desperately hugged him before the dam broke. The sound of her sobs echoed throughout the room and James never felt so miserable.

.oOo.

The day passed swiftly for the students. As promised the workers from the Ministry arrived in the afternoon and immediately began the construction of the new ceiling. It wasn't still complete but it did manage to shield their head from the atmosphere. With much to talk about, the day turned into the night and it was dinner. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore stood up with twinkling eyes as he tapped the side of his cup with his spoon. The sound, magnified by magic, echoed throughout the Hall and the chattering conversations came to a stop as students from all 4 schools turned their heads and fell silent.

"Good evening," Dumbledore began pleasantly. "I would first like to welcome the Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and Salem for the spirit of the international tournament and hope that we can set aside old differences and become firm friends."

Polite round of applause echoed and Dumbledore smiled warmly. "Also, as Professor Carpenter of Salem's Institute requested, the Alternative Magic and Old World class will be held once a week and it will be voluntary. The class will study about the Alternative Magics and the creatures and customs of the Old World. I strongly urge anyone interest to take the class as they will be well worth your time."

He smiled beneath his long silver beard as interested muttering spread through the students. Many quirked an eyebrow at the thought of Alternative Magic and the mention of the Old World. None of them knew what they were about some, especially those in Ravenclaws, looked quite interested.

_'I just hope Ms. Carpenter doesn't teach too much about the Faes or True-Magic. The 2 worlds have been separate since the time of Merlin and wand-wizards are not ready to know about them.' _He thought worriedly.

"And finally, I would also like to introduce a new student, who have recently arrived at Hogwarts and have been sorted into his house." Dumbledore continued as curious and excited whispers broke out those gathered in the Hall. Hogwarts looked extremely curious and even the foreigners muttered with interested gaze. "Please welcome our newcomer, Aries Potter, who have been sorted into 5th year Slytherin."

The curious whispers now turned into surprised gasps and chatter as the students immediately turned around to find the enigmatic son of the Potters. While the foreigners looked merely curious and wary as they still remembered the last night's event, the Hogwarts students were chattering with excitement, curiosity, and horror. A Potter in Slytherin?

Gryffindors muttered darkly with each other with a look of betrayal. Potters were always sorted into Gryffindors but it seemed the newest addition to the illustrious family rather had a dark tendency. The older brother of the Boy-Who-Lived was now in Slytherin and some Gryffindors, led by Ronald Weasley, began a heated rant of how dark he was considering that the enigma had battled Dumbledore and nearly killed all of them by destroying the Goblet and blew off the Great Hall's ceiling.

Many in Hufflepuff looked quite terrified at the idea of the eldest Potter child being in the Slytherin. They vividly remembered how strong and terrifying he had been last night as he went toe to toe against one of the most powerful wizards of the century. When he had bulldozed through them last night with some kind of strange magical shield, the majority of those who had been standing in his path were Hufflepuffs and it filled their hearts with fear and anxiety at the thought of him joining Hogwarts.

Ravenclaws were the most silent of the 4 houses. Oh, they were very curious and shocked as the rest but they quickly recovered their wits and began to whisper more quietly than the others. They weren't as angry like the Gryffindors nor were they horrified like the most Hufflepuffs, on the contrary, they were mostly curious. He would be the first Potter ever to be sorted into Slytherin and he was the older brother to Benjamin Potter to boot. Everything about him was shrouded in mystery and he was an absolute enigma. He was a puzzle that many of them were itching to solve.

Slytherin, on the other hand, was the most shocked out of the 4 houses. The reactions varied from anger and disbelief to interest and amusement. Some of them, purebloods especially, immediately began to rant angrily at how a blood traitor like a Potter could ever be sorted into their house while others, mostly the upper years, quietly but rapidly whispered with each other. Who would've thought that a Potter would actually end up in the house of snakes when his parents, brother and ancestors were all sorted into Gryffindors? While many of the purebloods were lost in mindless rants, others in their house rapidly examined what they knew about the mysterious Potter heir. They hadn't forgotten about the display of power last night nor the fact of how he sneaked into the ancient castle when it was considered as one of the most heavily warded places in England. Perhaps there were very good reason why he was sorted into Slytherin...

"Aries Potter!" Dumbledore called out when there was no sign of the said person. People were looking around now with hint of impatience as well as some amusement, it wasn't everyday when a person blatantly disrespected the esteemed headmaster.

Dumbledore sighed audibly. "Aries Angelos." He amended after a moment. It seemed that the young Denarian was dead set on not forgiving the Potters, if at all. He had hoped that he would at least use his family name but it looked as if Aries wanted to completely server all ties with his birth family and burn off all bridges.

From the doors, a single figure slipped in. He stood slightly taller than average and was dressed in the familiar black trench coat minus the hood. There was the handle of the sword sticking out from the back, signifying that he was still carrying the weapon which destroyed the Goblet of Fire. He wore slim black legging that didn't looked baggy but allowed range of movements as well as normal muggle sneakers. The only thing that indicated he was a Hogwarts student was the white, formal T-shirt he wore with a green and silver tie of Slytherin house.

He didn't even flinch or show any nervous reactions but merely met the hundreds of stares with icy glare that promised pain to anyone who disturbed him. He had faced a Basilisk, Red Court vampires, and other Denarians who hungrily screamed out for his blood, before he offed them anyway. Compare to that, this was nothing. After calmly glancing around the tables and meeting the curious stares with a deadly glare, he transferred his gaze to the old wizard sitting at the staff table.

"I thought I made it clear last night when I said my name was Angelos. Not. Potter." He hissed out coldly to the surprise of the Hall. Students, especially those from Hogwarts, looked incredulously at his blatant disrespect while Karkaroff smirked at the thought of Albus Dumbledore finally being put on his place.

"Perhaps it's time you look through the retirement pamphlets considering the fact that you keep forgetting that I am an Angelos despite the number of times I already told you." He sneered mockingly at him as hundreds of students gaped at his audacity. Gryffindors immediately began to scowl darkly at him as he mocked their idol and greatest leader while Slytherins looked momentarily stunned before smirking with amusement. "You really should consider a psychotherapy. I hear forgetfulness is a common sign of Alzheimer or a mental degeneration."

"I do not think I have reached that point yet Mr. Angelos." Dumbledore said dryly ignoring the dark looks sent at the Denarian by the Gryffindors or the snickers from the Slytherins.

Aries snorted while rolling his eyes. Easily ignoring the gaze of everyone, he stalked toward the green and silver table and some of them hastily moved away to make a spot after meeting his icy glare. Still scowling at everyone, he sat down and grabbed some foods and piled them on his plate before hungrily devouring them. The foods, he discovered, were actually pretty good and he ate them hungrily while the conversations erupted around him once more although they were equally hushed and forced as well as excited and curious.

Unfortunately, his wonderful dinner time was interrupted when someone decided to rudely interrupt his peace by asking a question. "Are you really Aries Potter?"

Aries sighed as he stopped the fork halfway to his mouth. Putting down the utensil, he flickered his eyes from his plate to the one sitting in front of him. The person was a boy with sandy brown hair and grey eyes with squat and lumpy features as well as slightly burly build.

"I thought I made it clear when I said my name is Aries Angelos." He grunted with annoyance.

"That was a dumb question Carrow. He looks just like Potter." A boy seated next to him said with a bored voice.

"Shut it Nott." The boy named Carrow snapped at the tall boy with thin features who somewhat looked "weedy" and "stringy."

Nott narrowed his eyes and was about to retort with scathing comment when a smooth, calm voice interrupted them. "That's enough." A tall, dark skinned boy with high cheek bones and slanted eyes cut across them. "You are a mystery Angelos, you were reported as dead for nearly 8 years and suddenly turned up last night." He curiously gazed at him while making sure to call him Angelos instead of Potter. It might not do good to irritate him.

Aries swallowed the mouthful pork meat he had been silently chewing on and turned his head to fully look at the one who skillfully steered the conversation away from the impending fight. "And you are?" He asked with bored voice.

"Blaise Zabini." The dark skinned boy introduced himself. "That's Theodore Nott," He gestured at the tall and thin looking boy. "And that's Anton Carrow." He pointed at the squat and ugly looking kid. By now, the rest of the Slytherins around him were discreetly looking at him with curiosity. They didn't openly stare at him but it was quite clear that they were listening into the conversation with interest.

Aries sighed mentally. _'Is it really that hard for me to just eat in peace?'_ He thought sourly.

"I've been traveling." Aries answered simply.

"Where?" A pug faced girl few seats away asked bluntly.

"Here and there." He answered vaguely with a smirk at the gleam frustration appeared on others eyes.

"That's hardly informative." A burly looking boy with dark hair and brown eyes muttered sourly.

"That's because it's none of your business." Aries snorted derisively at the interested looks he was getting.

"You aren't very talkative person are you?" A burly looking girl grunted out. Aries flickered his eyes toward the person and immediately knew that the girl would only get laid if the a dude was _very_ intoxicated. She wasn't very pleasant to look at.

It was probably shallow and mean thing to judge people by their looks, girls especially, but hey, he was an evil hellspawn with penchant for destruction so he had a perfectly legitimate reason to act like an utter bastard.

"What genius detective work Sherlock," Aries said sarcastically as a pretty, dark haired girl sitting close to the burly looking girl let out an amused snort. "And here I thought that people would never let me finish eating my dinner with all the stupid questions. Now all of you shut up and let me eat."

Some of them frowned at his insults while others sneered at the newcomer. However, Aries turned his attention back to his plate and began to eat once more as he easily ignored the hostile looks he was getting from some of his housemates, especially the purebloods. A normal person would've shrunk from the dark looks or sneers he was receiving from other housemates but Aries Angelos was no such weakling. He had no interest in such trivial matters and wasn't here to make friends with them anyway. The only reason he was here was to participate in this blasted tournament and find out the culprit who entered him and kill him or her slowly.

Besides, he didn't want to be friends with such weaklings who would be of no use to him. Aries was quite picky when it came to making friends and only befriended those who showed potential to be of use to him and wasn't likely to betray him. As far as he knew, Meciel was everything he needed although some people, mainly Sephiria Raith, were a pleasant company while Dresden was tolerable despite his idiotic hero complex.

The rest of the meal passed rather wonderfully for the Denarian as he ate the dinner peacefully without any interruptions. The rest of the Slytherins, despite their burning curiosity, opted to leave him to his devices while occasionally shooting glances at his way. While eating his dinner, Aries gently lowered his mental shields to allow trail of thoughts to enter into his consciousness as he didn't want to be bombarded by hundreds of different thoughts.

These morons didn't even bother to learn Occulemency. While Occulemency would not completely block telepathy, it could still make it somewhat hazy for him to know their thoughts as well as making their minds more organized. It seemed only a handful of people, less than a dozen, even bothered with it. As he allowed thoughts to flow into him, Meciel began to analyze and organize any useful information he received for future reference.

_'We have another meeting with the wand-wizards after dinner.'_ Meciel reminded him as he swallowed on pumpkin juice.

_'What is the meeting about? I thought I answered all their stupid questions.'_ He thought sourly at another talk session with those annoying wand-wizards.

_'I don't know, but it will be a good opportunity to learn just how your name came out of the Goblet.'_ Meciel murmured as she shifted in his head.

The Denarian turned to look at the staff table as he silently ate his dinner, it seemed that the Potters were absent to his relief as he didn't think he would enjoy another confrontation with them. While it was fun to verbally rip them apart, he preferred to not deal with them at all. Speaking of his once family, he better stop by his guest quarter to check up on Nightfang before another boring talk session. The Diamondback was rather peeved at the thought of porkeying to another country but relented when he learned that there was a large forest near the castle for him to hunt freely. Aries had briefly returned back to his luxurious apartment during the noon to pick up several items and clothes as well as his snake.

_'You know, Nightfang is rather eerily similar like you.'_ Meciel mused as she smirked at the thought of the foul-mouthed snake. _'Both of you are rather lazy and foul mouthed. Like master like pet.' _She sniggered.

_'Sometimes I wonder why I even bothered to pick him put all those years ago.'_ Aries mentally grumbled as he remembered how bossy the Diamondback liked to be.

_'He was rather helpful when you had to deal with those thugs back during the street days. Not to mention, he makes an excellent spy.'_ Meciel reminded him as she went over any possible blackmail material they received from others. There wasn't much she could use at the moment but they would eventually ferret out any dirty little secrets from every students in Hogwarts. Information like those could be very useful to them and would allow them to pull some favors in the future.

_'He still haven't taught me much Parslemagic.'_ Aries grunted. Over the years he had bought Nightfang, Aries still haven't learned much about Parslemagic as he wanted.

_'That's because we focused more on Wand-Magic and Angelic Maigc.' _Meciel pointed out. _'And whenever you had time, you were either lazing around or getting into a fight.'_

Aries grunted and turned his attention to observing the people around him. People were still somewhat excitedly pointing at him and whispering with each other as well as stealing dark glances, in case of Gryffindors. However, upon meeting his icy gaze, they hastily turned away from him and Aries smirked smugly at their cowardice. For a house that represented bravery, they sure were lacking some balls. Soon enough, the dinner ended and without another word, Aries and rest of the Slytherins, led by the grease ball Snape, walked toward their dorm.

Aries made sure to memorize the twisting passages so that he may not get lost. After descending to the dungeons, they came across a stone wall in the cellars with a large snake painted on it whose eyes glowed emerald as if silently judging the group.

"Magnus Supremus." Snape said curtly.

The snake hissed and the stone wall smoothly opened, creating an entrance. With his black robes billowing behind him, like a giant overgrown bat in his opinion, the greasy haired man entered swiftly followed by the rest of the house with Aries at the back. His eyes flickered here and there as he immediately searched for any shadows, hidden corners, and escapes routes. After years of fighting against the supernatural enemies, it had become a second habit for him to analyze his surroundings immediately upon entering a new surroundings.

The room had greenish lamps and chairs while low backed, black and dark green leather sofas laid here and there. Buttons, skulls, and dark wood cupboards decorated the floor. Going further in, they came upon a wide circular room with high dome-like ceiling with dark green carpet decorating the stone floor and a large fireplace. Chandlers and green lanterns hung from the ceiling and bathed the room with their soft light. It was a grand room with a cozy atmosphere for a dungeon although the dark and gloomy theme was still there.

_'Not bad.'_ Meciel mused as she observed the common room. _'I rather like the atmosphere. It's quite fitting for a Fallen Angel and her Denarian host.'_

Aries was pulled away from his observation when Snape whirled around and gazed at the group with his dark eyes with his trademark sneer.

"The tournament has now begun now that foreign schools have arrived and that _champions_ have been chosen." Snape spat out the word champions like a disease as his eyes landed on the certain new comer.

"And also," Snape's soft voice carried on, the usual voice he used whenever he was about to torment any Gryffindors or Hufflepuffs. "It seems that we have a new guest."

At once, the Slytherins turned to look at the last figure in the line while Snape glared at the newest addition to the house of snake. Aries Angelos didn't even bat an eye nor did he flinch from the focused stare from the group, instead he met their stare with icy glare of his own and glared right back at Snape, daring him to challenge him.

"Aries Angelos, as you go by now these days." Snape silkily whispered, his quiet voice audible in the silent room. "You are now a member of the Slytherins and I expect you to follow the rules unlike your father and not bring shame to this house."

"If you perhaps, do bring any shame to this house, there will be consequences." Snape threatened while several not-so-well-hidden sniggers came from the purebloods. "Ahhh... What's this? You are not in proper uniform." Snape remarked as he critically gazed at the muggle clothes he was wearing with condescending sneer. "That will be a day of detention Angelos. Come to my office tomorrow at 8'o clock sharp."

Aries inwardly laughed at this greasy haired man's attempt at threats. He was a Denarian and a hellspwan who had slaughtered everyone and everything that stood in his way as well as surviving the world on his own with Meciel's help for years. There weren't many things he feared and he could count them with one hand; worthless wand-wizard like him wasn't even a threat to him.

Instead of cowering from the Snape's threats like many expected, Aries let out a bored yawn to the incredulous gaze of those in the room. "That's great, but you are forgetting the fact that I'll only be here for a year." Aries drawled lazily as Snape gritted his teeth at the boy's obvious lack of care or respect.

"I'm not here because I want to but because of the contract. I don't care about the rules or your opinions." He sneered back at the greasy bastard. Who the hell did he think he was threatening him? Didn't he know that in order to threaten someone, you had to have a leverage over them? He had specifically told everyone in Dumbledore's office that he wasn't here voluntarily and that he wouldn't be following the rules despite being enrolled here for a year.

"So you can take your threats and shove it all the way up your ass because I really don't care about you or the school." Aries responded with a smug smirk just to infuriate the man even more. The rest of the Slytherins drew in a sharp breath at his response, talking back to Snape was considered as a death wish among the students and he did it so casually. Snape, on the other hand, stood stock still with an unreadable expression although the Denarian could see the hint of fury in his black eyes.

Aries remained relaxed despite the imminent fight he was about to be in. He could see Snape's right hand twitch and move for his wand and was ready for his attacks. After all, no matter how fast the wand-wizards were, they were still humans and thus bound by the limits of their body. He, on the other hand, was a Denarian with supernatural strength and speed that far exceeded that of humans and had faced against foes who were faster and stronger than humans. While the man was obviously more powerful and experienced than the most wand-wizards, in the end, he was but a human.

Before they could come into blows, a small figure leaped between them much to the surprise of the students. It was a house elf.

"Mr. Snape sir, I is to deliver headmaster's message sir." The house elf squeaked at the dark glare from the greasy batman and the combined stare from the students. "He said to bring Aries Angelos sir for a meeting sir."

Snape seemed to twitch and glared furiously at him for few tense moments before gritting out his reply. "I'll be there."

The house elf hastily popped away, leaving a silent dorm with students who were looking nervously between their head of the house and the newest addition. The silence was so suffocating that one could literally hear a pin drop and it grew even more uneasy and awkward as Aries Angelos coldly glared right back at Snape. With one final glare, Snape turned on his heels and briskly strode out the common as anyone in his way stumbled over themselves to move away. With a loud bang, the entrance to the Slytherin dorm was closed and all was silent once more.

"What a moron." Aries snorted as he sneered at the direction Snape had gone out, easily ignoring the incredulous look directed at him by the rest of the Slytherins.

"You really got some balls Potter." Murmured one of the upper year Slytherin who immediately took a step back when the Denarian's ice cold gaze landed on him.

"Is everyone in this whole castle deaf or what?" Aries scowled at others. "I am NOT a Potter. My name is Aries Angelos." He hissed coldly as his eyes flashed with anger, unnerving the students.

With a irritated scowl, he nimbly jumped onto one of the couch so that he could gain some extra height, immediately gaining the attention of everyone gathered. "Let's make few things clear so that you morons would understand." He snapped as his penetrating gaze swept through them, stifling any glares or arguments from those gathered.

"My name is Aries Angelos, NOT Potter! Next idiot to call me Potter will be seriously screwed over!" He glared at them, silencing any form of protest or mockery, especially from the purebloods. "Also, I'm NOT here to make friends or to follow rules like that grease balls thinks I should. I'm only here for the tournament and to find out just _how_ I've been entered into this blasted contract." He snapped coldly.

"Stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours. Got it?" He finished, leaving a silent crowd in front of him as he jumped down from the couch.

Satisfied with his message delivered, Aries stalked out of the common room to have another meeting with the wand-wizards. _'I've been here for less than two days and I'm already running out of patience. With the rate this is going, I'll seriously end up murdering a quarter of population before the tournament is over.'_ He thought irritably.

With a brisk pace, he head over to his temporary room first, it might be a good idea to check on Nightfang before meeting with the wand-wizards.

.oOo.

"Just where is that boy Albus?" A voice growled impatiently.

Albus Dumbledore mildly looked over at the short and plump form of the Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of the Magic. It had been nearly half an hour since he sent the house elf to fetch for the potion master and the young Denarian and people were getting rather irritated. After nearly fifteen minutes of waiting, he had sent another house elf to fetch young Angelos but the elf came back with an answer from him that since Albus had originally requested the meeting at 9 P.M., Aries will not show himself until the designated time.

And thus, leading to current frustration. Sitting at the lavishly decorated chair was the current Minister of the Magic, Cornelius Fudge and sitting close to him was his pet toad and Senior Undersecretary of Magic, Dolores Umbridge. Behind them and standing closer to the bookshelves were Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Rufus Scrimgeour, Head Auror, and Kingsley Shacklebolt, Fudge's bodyguard. Others included the Hogwarts staffs, and the Potters as well as Sirius Black.

Molly Carpenter, on the other hand, was seated away from Fudge and Umbridge and looked utterly unconcerned from the hostile glances ugly toad woman sent her. McGonagall and Flitwick were talking quietly with one another although he could see impatient glances the stern woman sent at the door every now and then while Snape, as usual, was brooding near the corner of the office with an angry look.

With his eyes twinkling, Dumbledore turned his gaze from observing them and looked at Potters, James and Lily had subdued atmosphere while Sirius spoke quietly with them. He momentarily felt a pang of regret and shame as he looked at them, as the state of their mood was partially his fault.

At that moment, there was a sharp knock at the door and all conversations ceased as all occupants turned their gaze toward the door. Although he knew who it was, Albus Dumbledore was slightly puzzled when he couldn't identify the person behind the door as he usually did.

Putting down his tea, he called out. "Enter."

The door swung open and revealed the person they were waiting for. Aries Angelos was sporting his usual look with the slim muggle pants with sneakers while wearing the standard Hogwarts' white T-shirt with sliver and green tie. However, instead of wearing the normal wizarding robe, he wore his black trench coat with its lower part flaring out behind him like a waist-length cape. Currently, he was standing with his feet wide apart as he avoided stepping on the large stone slab situated in front of the door.

With a smirk, Aries Angelos calmly entered the office as his eyes scanned the office, silently assessing each people. "That was a clever trick Dumbledore." Aries said mildly as he gave him an amused smile. "You put a detecting rune beneath that stone slab in front of the door to allow to you know just who was outside your office."

Dumbledore chuckled ruefully at the slightly surprised expressions on the people's faces. Minerva, in particular, looked rather intrigued as she had been the most curious and annoyed at how her eccentric employer always knew just _who_ was outside his office. "Indeed, that was quite a useful trick I found," Dumbledore looked at the Denarian with his twinkle on full blast. "Minerva here was rather annoyed at how I always knew who was outside the office." He smiled benignly at him.

"You are only the second person to have figure that out." Dumbledore chuckled.

Aries quirked his eyebrow at the compliment, being a Denarian made him much more sensitive to the magic around him but he barely was able to sense the rune hidden beneath the stone slab. Dumbledore, despite his age and immense power, was a wily old man with one of the sharpest minds he encountered. "Who was the first?" He asked with small curiosity.

"I believe that is for another time." Dumbledore said with a small smile. "Lemon drops?"

Aries shrugged and looked around the room mildly, judging people's reactions. "Any lead on the culprit?" He asked.

"We are still investigating. However, we believe that the culprit had cast a very strong Confundus charm on the Goblet." Dumbledore answered him as he conjured a comfortable looking chair for him, who after few moments sat down on it.

Aries hummed as he mulled over the information. Somehow the culprit was able to use the Confundus charm to bewitch a powerful magical object but what puzzled him was the fact that his name was somehow entered. He never gave anyone his full name willingly and there were only handful of people who knew it and none of them were in Britain. The people he interacted with barely knew him since most of them were usually killed by him (his targets) or wasn't the type to sell him out. Dresden worked for the White Council and the two magical worlds were kept separate and he just wasn't the type to sell him out since he was the Denarian's employer as well as mentor. The White Court Vampires saw him as a very powerful ally and he was more useful to them if his identity was relatively unknown, not to mention that House Raith absolutely adored him. Carpenters were goody goody two shoed family and he doubted they would go behind his back, despite the fact that they were technically enemies; They never knew about his past or his connection to the Potters at all, other than the fact that he was a wand-wizard and butchered his relatives at age of 7.

As far as he knew, he _never_ told _anyone_ of his origin other than Meciel and Nightfang.

Then there were the Winter Faes and the Order of Blackened Denarius. The cold and merciless Faes of Winter were even more of a tricky bastards than the White Court Vampires and he knew that Maeve, the Winter Lady, was especially interested in him due to his background as a powerful Denrain and wand-wizard in his own right. The Faes were _very_ good at ferrying out secrets and observed the mortal world from their home, Nevernever. It wouldn't have surprised him if they were somehow able to figure out his secret.

As for the Order of Blackened Denarius, on the other hand, also had a very extensive spy network. While it was as efficient like the Faes' they had contacts all over the world. The members of the Blackened Order who came across him were all killed and their coins safely locked away by the Knights of Cross. He doubted they could've figured out his past.

_'The most probable explanation we have is that this was either an accident or there is something we are missing.'_ Meciel murmured as he frowned at the result, neither were good.

"Dumbledore, you can have that discussion later. I have other things to do in the Ministry." Fudge said impatiently before the two could resume their conversation.

"Ah yes. Old men like me sometimes get lost in our musings." Dumbledore chuckled with twinkling eyes but despite his cheerful expression, Aries detected slight feeling of irritation from the aged headmaster.

"This is Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic." The old man introduced the short, and plump wizard with a pompous air of arrogance. "And Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary of Magic." Dumbledore said as he nodded to a short and ugly looking woman who reminded him of a toad.

Aries felt his lips tug downward in a grimace as he gave a flat stare at the two figures. The Minister was one of those incompetent and arrogant idiot who believed the world revolved around them. Just by judging the man's body language, Aries was able to deduce his personality and abilities. The way he puffed out his chest was a dead giveaway of his arrogance along with self-importance a mile long while lacking power and confidence. His eyes kept flickering at his minion... eer secretary and crimson robed bodyguard as if seeking reassurance. Not to mention, Aries could practically _feel_ the thoughts and emotions rolling off the man with his supernatural abilities.

As for Dolores Umbridge, Aries found it very difficult to not gag at the sight of her image. She was perhaps one of the ugliest woman he had ever met, and considering that he had been travelling a lot for nearly 8 years and meeting lots of people, that was saying something. In fact, she looked so much like a toad that he wondered if her family had a tradition of breeding humans with toads. He half expected her to open her mouth to let out a croak and shoot out her tongue to catch a fly. And finally, this woman was dressed entirely in pink. The horrible, mind scarring pink that flashed into one's eyes that he or she might want to blind themselves. She was short and plump and waddled like a penguin as she rose from her seat and walked to stand behind the Minister.

"Minister, this is Aries Angelos." Dumbledore introduced him to the moronic duo.

"Yes, yes, this is the Potter heir is he not?" Fudge said as he looked at him with greedy eyes. Aries could tell that he was looking for ways to turn this event into his own advantage, and use him for the Ministry's purpose, much to his and Meciel's distaste. Aries heaved a sighed and resisted the urge to scowl while pinching the bridge of his nose. Why does everyone he meet think he's a Potter when his name _clearly_ states Angelos? "It's Angelos. Aries Angelos, not Potter." Aries said bluntly.

Potters flinched but none noticed it besides those standing close to them. Fudge seemed stunned for a moment, no doubt he wasn't addressed in such manner by anyone else before. Turning his gaze to Dumbledore, which frustrated Fudge judging by his look of indignation, Aries looked at him with boredom but with hint of steel. "What's going on here?"

"Well... The Minister-" Said Dumbledore.

"Hem-hem." Aries narrowed his eyes with distaste as the toad opened her mouth. "The Minister has come to investigate the matter of your... reappearance into the Magical Britain." Said the toad in most horrible, girlish voice that instantly grated on his nerves. It was so bad that he immediately wanted to throttle her or better yet, set her on fire.

Aries flicked his eyes toward the pathetic looking wizard with the bowler hat and as expected, the man wilted under his icy gaze. _'So, the wand-wizards are finally making their move.'_ He mused off handily. It wasn't that surprising given how much of a fiasco the Goblet of Fire incident was. He and Meciel had already known that given the chaos of the situation, it was only a matter of time before the Ministry of Magic would get involved. Still, he had hoped that Dumbledore would somehow keep them off his back since he had no desire to deal with the wand-wizards at all.

He had long since observed the wand-wizarding world and knew that British Wizarding World was perhaps the most incompetent government amongst the ICW. Still, the opportunity was far too golden to be wasted. Lowering his mental barrier, he allowed the thoughts of two idiots in front of him to flow into his mind while he probed deeper and deeper into their mind.

"Oh? Then why did you bring so many people?" Aries said as he gestured at the other robed people standing few feets away from them.

"Your return to the Wizarding World was done in a spectacular fashion if I may add Mr. Angelos." Commented a stern looking witch with close-cropped grey hair and a monocle as she cut across whatever the pink toad might say. "Not only did you destroy the Goblet of Fire, which was a priceless historical artifact, you also endangered the students and staffs when the Goblet exploded."

Aries didn't show any other outward reaction other than to continually look bored at the situation. There was no flinch of shame or sneer of disdain directed toward them much like most wrong doers did. "And you are?" He asked blandly.

"I am Amelia Bones, Director of the Department of the Magical Law Enforcement." The witch introduced herself. "And these two are Rufus Scrimgeour, Head Auror, and Kingsley Shacklebolt, an accomplished Auror and Minister's security."

"I was unwillingly entered into a magical contract, one in which I had no intention of participating. Also, did you know that if you died during the tournament the cup would rip your magic from your still breathing body?" Aries replied mildly as he scrutinized the older witch.

The occupants in the room drew a sharp breath at that particular piece of information. The Goblet of Fire was a mystery to many and only the Unspeakables knew how the Goblet functioned. "I'm quite surprised that the Ministry didn't lock it up as a dark artifact." Continued Aries with mild amusement.

"What do you mean rip your magic from your body?" Fudge demanded confusedly.

"Exactly as I said." Aries grunted as he looked at the incompetent idiot. "The few moments before your death, the Goblet will rip your magic away from you for your failure in completing the task."

Dumbledore lost his customary twinkle as he softly stroked his beard. "And how do you know this Mr. Angelos?" He asked cautiously. Aries didn't reply but smirked while tapping the side of his head, a gesture only Dumbledore and Molly Carpenter understood.

"Even so, Mr. Angelos had destroyed the Goblet, which is a criminal offense." Umbridge said in a sickly sweet voice while Potters scowled at her.

"I will not have my son persecuted like a common criminal Umbridge!" James Potter snarled in a heated voice. Ugly frown crept on Umbridge's face making it even more ugly than before, if that was even possible.

Fudge looked quite uncomfortable as he nervously shifted his eyes from his Senior Undersecretary to Amelia and to the Potters. Potters had lots of political power due to their son's status as one of the Boys-Who-Lived and preferred not to cross them.

The toad opened her mouth to retort but found herself cut off by Amelia, again. "That's enough James! I know you don't like it but we are required to know question him." Said the Director of DMLE as she gave a stern glare at James Potter.

"Err- Right. We had been given a basic background of what had happened but I'm afraid we must question you Mr. Angelos." Fudge said uncomfortably at the combined glares from Potters and Black. Aries was unimpressed and gave him a flat stare. With a snort, he stood up from his chair and began to walk toward one of the bookshelves Dumbledore had in a leisure manner.

"_I_ don't have to do _anything_ I don't want to _Minister_." Aries said in a mocking tone as he turned away from the bookshelf while pinning everyone with his powerful gaze. With his back toward the bookshelf, it allowed him to keep everyone in his field of vision, allowing him to observe their reactions as well as keep him safe from and unprotected attacks just in case things get violent.

Fudge spluttered at him with indignation while Umbridge screamed at the Aurors in rage. "Aurors! Arrest him!"

"On what grounds?" Aries sneered at the toad and the fool of a Minister.

"For disobeying the decree of Minister!" Umbridge snarled at him. "If you resist the arrest, you'll be brought down with lethal force!"

"ENOUGH!" Dumbledore yelled as he leaped up from his chair and let out a powerful light from his wand. A blinding light flashed and filled the office as it temporarily incapacitated everyone. When the light died down, Aries blinked his eyes as he tried to get the shake off the after effect of the old man's power.

"Control yourselves. There will be no violence in this office!" Dumbledore said sternly as everyone flinched from the power emitting from him. Aries didn't react but he was quite impressed. Despite his eccentric attitude, it was times like these that Dumbledore truly brought out the side of him which reminded everyone just how powerful he was.

"I have been living outside of England for more than 8 years now." Aries spoke as he broke the silence followed Dumbledore's show of power. "I may have been born inside of England but the Ministry doesn't have any authority over me." He said coldly while glaring at Fudge and his pet toad.

Reaching over his shoulder, he gripped the handle of Judgement and drew it out slowly while Dumbledore stared at him with hard face. His blue eyes were cold and he closely observed him in case the things really did turn violent. The angelic blade gleamed from the lights and its silver edges looked unnaturally sharp, as if it could cut through the very air itself. Aries let a steady flow of hellfire and his magic flow through him and into the blade and before the astonished and tense eyes of his audience, the black lightning sparked into life and enveloped the divine sword. He steadily increased the flow of energy until the black lightning was flaring almost out of control and the brilliant emerald aura surrounded him as well as inky darkness that seemed to dance with malice. His lips curled in a cold smile and the scent of sulfur invaded his nose while his piercing emerald eyes literally began to glow, giving him an eerie and dangerous look.

Fudge and Umbridge immediately scampered away from him the lights within the office seemed to flicker out while darkness rose up around the Denarian and surrounded him like a cloak. Emerald light radiating from Aries danced and intermingled with inky blackness, giving him a half concealed look.

Potters and Sirius Black gasped in terror as they beheld such aura of darkness permeating from Aries. They had never witnessed just how powerful and dark he was until now. As for Dumbledore, he warily sat in his sit while firmly grasping his wand. Aries Angelos wasn't about to attack them but it was dangerously close to crossing the line. As for Hogwarts staff, Pomona Sprout yelped out in terror while Minerva McGonagall paled as she staggered backward while hastily bringing out her wand.

Filius Flitwick tightly held out his wand in defensive position, due to his part goblin heritage he was somewhat more sensitive to the Denarian's aura of darkness and could feel something unnatural about it. He had faced plenty of dark wizards in the past and even Voldemort but the youth in front of him emitted aura of which he had never experienced before. Something powerful, something ancient, as if it was from out of this world.

Severus Snape grimaced as he swallowed his dry throat. He had never felt such aura of darkness even during his time as a Death Eater. Lord Voldemort was definitely dark but this Potter brat's aura was something else entirely, something different. To his side, Alastor Moody seemed to grimace like him as his magical and normal eye focused on the potential threat before him.

Amelia Bones, Rufus Scrimgeour and Kingsley Shacklebolt tensed with anxiety as they beheld the boy wreathed in the aura of darkness, only lit by the emerald light surrounding him. They had been dealing with dark wizard for decades and immediately recognized a danger when they saw one. Yet, this enigmatic boy easily surpassed every one of them they encountered. The fear and power he emitted were nearly that of the Dark Lord.

Molly Carpenter also stood up from her seat as she warily gazed at him. She and her family had been acquaintance with the Denarian for several years and knew just how dangerous he was. While she and her siblings didn't interact with him that often, she had heard of his growing power from her dad and Dresden occasionally. His control over the dark powers were exceptional and always thought that they were somewhat exaggerating. But seeing him in such state before her eyes, she realized that she was mistaken, Aries Angelos truly was a prodigy when it came to wielding the Dark Arts.

"I would be careful of what you are saying you little bitch!" He hissed at Umbridge as she ran behind Amelia as fast as her chubby legs could carry her along with Fudge. "All of you are nothing! You cannot force me to do anything!" He snarled.

Aries took a deep breath and slowly, but steadily, lowered his raging power once more as the darkness and malice disappeared, leaving a shaken wand-wizards and witches behind. His emerald eyes no longer glowed like the twin bolts of infamous killing curse but still retained the power held within. It was too bad that he couldn't butcher the insolent fools, especially Fudge and Umbridge. Who did they think they were order a superior being like him? He was a Denarian, an immortal with supernatural powers. He was much _far_ better than these foolish mortals in _every_ way.

"If you think you can control me in any way, you are sadly mistaken." He hissed darkly. "I am _far_ more powerful than any of you."

"Yo-You are a-a dark wizard!" Fudge stammered in fear while wildly pointing at him with his finger.

Aries merely scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "How obvious." He said sarcastically. "I've been a dark wizard ever since I was seven." Aries sneered at the shocked faces of Ministry.

"Now fuck off!" He snapped at them. Aries watched with satisfaction as Fudge and Umbridge all but scampered to the fireplace and flooed to the Ministry in fear.

"Good riddance." Aries sneered as the emerald flames died down from the use of Floo. "What fucking idiots. No wonder British Ministry of Magic was considered as an epic failure." He snorted.

Dumbledore sighed as he loosened the tense muscles. "That was quite confrontational Mr. Angelos." He chided as he took off his glasses.

Aries merely rolled his eyes. "If the Ministry think that they can force me to do anything, than they are far more stupid than a mentally impaired retard." He said acidly as he thought of ripping them apart.

A cough interrupted him and Aries turned around to see Amelia Bones, Rufus Scrimgeour and Kingsley Shacklebolt still standing where they had been. The trio gazed at him with healthy amount of suspicion and fear as they still held their wand at their hands, although they were pointing downward and away from him since they didn't want to antagonized someone as powerful as him.

"Mr. Angelos, you do realize that threatening a Minister like that is a crime?" Amelia spoke cautiously as if regarding a dangerous predator stalking through her home.

"Your Minister is a stupid moron." Aries replied bluntly to the shock of Hogwarts staff and Ministry workers. "And Umbitch was it? What the hell is she doing as a Senior Undersecretary? She's a worthless and talentless idiot who should be hopping around with other toads." He snapped coldly ignoring the polite cough from Dumbledore when he said "Umbitch."

"I would show more respect to the Ministry if I were you boy." Rufus Scrimgeour snapped at him. Faster than they could react, Aries crossed the distance between them and grabbed his wand arm just as others reacted. In one smooth motion, Aries ducked under the arm and moved to stand behind him while twisting his arm while bringing up Judgement so that its sharp edges were mere millimeters away from the man's back.

Amelia Bones and Kingsley Shacklebolt pointed their wands at him but Aries merely placed Scrimgeour in front of him as a human shield. "And if I were you, I would show more respect to your better, Scrimgeour." Aries sneered as he savagely twisted his arm more and grinned when the man let out a pained grunt.

"Mr. Angelos! Let him go!" Amelia snapped at him.

Aries stared coldly at the stern woman and his eyes flickered toward everyone gathered. "Listen up and listen well since I don't like to repeat myself." He said in a icy voice, promising pain to anyone who disobeyed him. "Whether it's Ministry or Hogwarts, _no one_ has _any_ authority over me. I serve only myself and I will destroy _all_ who dares to control me. Never stand in my way."

With his warning given, Aries loosened his grip on Scrimgeour's arm and pushed him forward. Rufus stumbled forward and gripped his arm painfully as he glared furiously at the Denarian.

"Perhaps Amelia, it would be best if you leave the situation to me." Dumbledore quietly spoke as the stern woman turned toward him but never letting Aries Angelos out of her sight. "You saw just how powerful he is only few moments ago, he's not someone your Aurors can handle."

Amelia heaved a tired sigh and nodded reluctantly after several moments. "Headmaster, you do realize that Fudge and Umbridge will demand him to be arrested." Amelia said with a frown.

"No doubt the Minister will be calling for his arrest." Dumbledore said gravely.

"I'd like to see them try." Aries sneered. "I'll butcher them all if they do." Aries gave a bloody thirsty grin.

Ignoring his jib, Dumbldore continued on. "It would take tremendous amount of resources to arrest him, let alone kill him. Even if you were to get help from the Hit-Wizards and the Unspeakables, it would still be a difficult task and no doubt would end in a blood bath." Said the old headmaster with a grimace at the idea while Aries gave a smug smirk, which infuriated Scrimgeour and Snape.

"Are you saying that we should leave him here? At Hogwarts? Where the children might be in danger?" Amelia said incredulously.

"I'll be monitoring him closely Amelia, of that you have my word." Dumbledore said firmly.

Amelia Bones still looked rather unconvinced and Aries rolled his eyes. "Relax, I won't kill anyone while I'm here and it's only until the tournament is over. However, I will respond with a lethal force if anyone bothers me." Aries drawled even as Amelia Bones turned toward him.

"Are you willing to give a magical oath to keep your promise or is it just a lie?" Asked the Director of DMLE with a hard voice.

"As long as no one bothers me, I won't bother them." Aries snapped with irritation. It irked him to bound himself into any magical contracts when he was already in one without his consent. "And I'm already in a magical contract if you hadn't noticed."

"If you can give me your oath, I will listen to headmaster's suggestion and will convince the Minister to leave you alone." Amelia said when Aries Angelos looked ready to reject it.

Aries frowned and cocked his head as he mulled over her offer. He really didn't want to deal with the incompetent wand-wizards' Ministry of Magic at all and it would no doubt get nasty when he butchered the Aurors sent to arrest him. _'I think it's a good tradeoff.' _Meciel advised him. _'We are not looking to kill students anyway, unless of course, the culprit is a student.'_

"Fine, I'll give the magical oath but I reserve the right to retaliate with _lethal_ force if anyone bothers me." Aries said after few moments.

"I'm afraid, that's not good enough Mr. Angelos." Amelia said with a frown. "I will not have anyone suffer while you are here. This is a school, where innocent children are."

"Then Dumbledore better tell them to stay away from me and not bother me at all. I don't really care if they are children or not. Age and gender means nothing to me." Aries shrugged his shoulders without a care in the world.

"Are you saying that you'll give them a permanent damage even if they just insult you?" Amelia asked incredulously.

"Of course not." Aries scoffed. "The level of retaliation will depend on how severely they bother me. If they try to bully me, I'll bully them in return. If they try to injure me, I'll injure them, permanently."

When Amelia still looked unconvinced, Aries snapped at her. "As long as they don't bother me first, there will be no problem. If you are expecting me to take insults, bullying, or any harm, mental or physical, without a peep, then you are sadly mistaken. I fight fire with fire."

Amelia Bones stared at the boy in front of her with hard expression while Aries stared back with cold eyes. There was no mistaking it, the boy was completely serious about it and would retaliate if anything happened to him regardless of whether they were children or not.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "And what do you intent to do with the culprit Mr. Angelos?" She asked after rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"I'll kill him, or her." Aries answered without hesitation.

The Director of DMLE frowned. "It is due process of the law for the criminal to be tried in front of the Wizengamot." She said sternly.

"I don't give a crap about your laws." Aries snapped angrily. "The culprit signed his life away the moment he decided to fuck with me whether it was intentional or not."

When Amelia Bones looked ready to retort, Aries quickly cut across her. "I didn't come here so that I can hand over the bastard to your incompetent Ministry. I came here to find out who fucked with me and kill him. Nothing you say will change that." He hissed.

"I could always throw you in Azkaban." Amelia threatened him.

"I'd like to see anyone try that. I'll kill anyone who stands in my way." He sneered at her. "I've killed far bigger and stronger things than bunch of Aurors. And most of them are not humans." He said icily as his eyes flashed briefly with power and darkness.

When Amelia Bones was silent, Aries looked around the room. "Anyone else? No? Good."

With a flick of his wrist, Aries brought out his wand. He closed his eyes and quickly discussed the content of the wording with Meciel for few moments. When making a oath, one must be extremely cautious with the wording because depending on the way the oath was written, there could be loopholes.

"Oh and by the way, the oath is off if you can't convince the Minister." Aries informed the stern witch. When she opened her mouth, he quickly spoke across her, again. "The deal was that I would give the oath in return for your help to keep the Ministry from bothering me."

"I, Aries Angelos, do swear by my magic to not harm the students while I'm enrolled into Hogwarts until the tournament is over. However, I do reserve the right to retaliate with lethal force if anyone tries to bother me depending on the severity of attack. If the culprit, who entered my name into the tournament, is found I reserve the right to kill him or her in any way I see fit." Aries swore as he held up his wand.

There was a flash of light and Aries felt a distinctive feeling of magic binding him to his oath before it disappeared. However, he consoled himself into knowing that he made few loopholes in the oath: First, he made it so that he would not attack the _students only_, he never mentioned anything about the staff. He had a feeling that grease ball Snape would try something against him. Second, even if the culprit was a student, he would be able to kill off the bastard since his or her status as a student will be revoked.

With his oath given, Aries stared expectantly at the Director of the Magical Law Enforcement. "I have made my oath, I hope that you can convince your moron of Minister or the deal is off." Aries spoke out as Amelia Bones, Rufus Scrimgeour and Kingsley Shacklebolt each grabbed the Floo powders before disappearing in blazes of emerald fire.

With the Ministry workers gone, Aries turned back to the silent headmaster and the staffs. "Remember. Warn your students to not bother me or there will be consequences." He hissed in warning before turning and striding out of the office.

When the door to his office closed, Dumbledore sighed and leaned back on his chair tiredly. Aries Angelos was perhaps the most difficult student Albus had met in all of his teaching career other than Tom Riddle.

"What do we do Albus?" McGonagall asked him uncertainly. "That boy is willing to hurt others without any form of guilt."

"How can you-" James Potter argued but was cut off by Pomona Sprout.

"James, I know that you want to believe that your son would not harm anyone. After all, that's what any parents like to think. However, the boy freely admitted that he is a dark wizard." She said uncomfortably as she looked at him.

"While I may not know about Aries Angelos, I do know what type of person he is." A quiet voice spoke out. The staff turned to the Ravenclaw head of the house, the normally jovial wizard had a pensive and serious expression.

"I've met several people like him in the past and they don't issue threats lightly. When they do give threats, they carry them out no matter how harsh or extreme they may be." Said Flitwick as James seemed to lose his strength and collapse on the chair next to his wife, who looked distraught at the idea.

"Bu-But surely Aries wouldn't endanger innocent children? There has to be some sort of chivalry or compassion within Aries right?" Sirius Black asked almost desperately as he looked at Dumbledore.

Albus looked sadly at the desperate looking Sirius Black and the Potters. He truly wanted to say that Aries Angelos was not what he was right now. That deep down, he loved his parents was just lost a bit and was just as noble and chivalrous like his parents. However, he knew that it was nothing but their hopeful thoughts.

Aries Angelos was not what they wished him to be. He was not Aries Potter. He was not Harry Potter as they called him long ago.

As much as he wanted to comfort them, Albus couldn't bring himself to give them a false hope. While temporary, it would only destroy them more in the end. He glanced at the silent Molly Carpenter, who had never uttered a word since the meeting began. During his short conversation with the witch, he had learned much about Aries Angelos, at least his characteristics and personality based on what the young True-Mage had told him. From what he had learned, Aries Angelos regretted nothing. He willingly became a Denarian and _reveled_ in the dark powers that came with being a host of a Fallen Angel.

He was utterly ruthless and hungered for power. He had asked her if Aries had shown any desire for family or friends but the answer was a negative. According to her and the Denarian's own admission, he loved Meciel, the Fallen residing inside his head.

Molly Carpenter met the sad gaze from the old headmaster and looked pityingly at Sirius Black and the Potters. Different emotions stirred inside her whenever she looked at them. On one hand, they had abandoned their own son/godson with the fame that came as Benjamin Potter's status as one of the Boys-Who-Lived. On the other hand, they truly loved their firstborn and regretted their actions. They repented their crime and sought to undo their mistake.

She heaved a sigh. "Mr. Black." Molly said neutrally. "I'm afraid to say that pity, compassion, and chivalry are not the traits of Aries Angelos."

Sirius felt as if air was driven from his lungs as he looked at the slender witch whose family had known his godson since he was 9. "He doesn't like those traits and sees them as weaknesses." Molly informed him.

"Couldn't have stopped him? You said he knew your family." Lily spoke out at last as she looked pleadingly at the younger woman.

"If there is one thing I know about him, it's that he is extremely independent. He doesn't like being told what to do and has his own set of beliefs that are different from the society's." Molly said as she patiently explained it to the red-haired woman. "He doesn't live with my family and we only see him occasionally. We actually tried to... ah tell him that it was wrong but it's suffice to say that he reacted violently." Said Molly as she grimaced at the memory of how her mother told her when she and her siblings first met the Denarian.

Lily sagged against James while Sirius bonelessly collapsed on the chair next to them. Albus could only but look at them sadly. After all, it was partially his fault why Aries became a Denarian and turned out the way he is.

"It is my hope that one day, Aries would forgive us. But I will not pressure him to doing so. I have already failed him once, I will not fail him again." Dumbledore said quietly.

One by one, the staffs began to leave. Some with apprehension and others with despair. When at last, he was the only one in his office, Dumbledore let out a sigh for the hundredth time of the day.

For millionth times, he questioned himself whether it was a good idea to let Aries Angelos attend Hogwarts.

* * *

**Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I know it's been nearly a month since I updated the story. I seriously needs to get off my lazy butt and start writing. Some people have questioned me of whether the story is in Hiatus and here is my answer: I WILL COMPLETE THIS STORY TILL THE END.**

**If I'm not updating the story in usual 2 week timeline, it's probably because 1.) I got lazy. 2.) Need motivation. 3.) Something important came up.**


	15. Welcome to Slytherin

**And I'm alive! I can't believe it's already been 2 months since my last update. I already have plots filled out (especially how to write the tasks) but the problem is coming up with something interesting in between the tasks.**

* * *

**Welcome to Slytherin**

A day had passed since Aries Angelos had confronted the Ministry. Since then, Aries had been found lazing around in his dorm, only showing up to eat in the Great Hall. He rarely spent much time out in the Slytherin common room since he really didn't like all the stare and whispers from the rest of the students. Most of them gazed curiously at him while others, purebloods from what he gathered, looked at him with disdain and anger. It was quite pathetic really, at seeing how arrogant and snobbish these purebloods acted. Although he hadn't had any confrontation with them yet, Aries could tell their general characters due to his telepathic power and it was sorely disappointing. All they had was arrogance that was founded on nothing and not much of any talents.

Didn't these idiots know that to be actually arrogant than others, they first had to be truly better than them? All they had was their family name and little else. While few did show above average potential, most of them were lacking mental capacities. It looks like that the rumors of them being inbred morons were actually true.

It was a good thing then, Aries considered, that he was allowed to get his own room. He didn't think that he would be able to resist the temptation of not killing other students if he had to actually share a room with one of those morons.

_'Aries it's time to awake.'_ Meciel's soft, feminine voice murmured in his head as her host twitched and let out a lazy yawn.

Aries groaned as he rolled onto his stomach. "Give me a morning blowjob and I'll consider it." Aries grunted sleepily.

The Fallen let out an exasperated sigh as she regarded her host. Even after nearly 8 years, Aries Angelos never managed to wake up by himself on the mornings. If left alone, he had a habit of waking up around noon. Perhaps it was because of the way Dursleys forced him to wake up early in the morning to make them breakfast and he _hated_ doing it. Now that those filthy scums had been exterminated, he had taken it as a hobby to wake up as late as possible.

_'Hmmm. I thought I might show you more of my cleavage but I guess that you are not interested.'_ Meciel replied blandly.

Aries rolled over so that he was facing her illusion and cracked open his eyes. "Well I'm awake." Aries said as he leered over her perfect form

_"Damn this really sucks."_ Aries complained in Parsletounge as he leaned back grumpily on his bed. _"Why does every situation have to be so screwed up."_

From the other bed, Nightfang stirred as he lazily raised his head to look at the Denarian. One of the first thing Aries had done after getting his own dorm was to layer series complex warming and cooling charm on the other bed where the bossy snake had taken up the residence. It circulated the air current by heating and cooling it to the perfect temperature for the snake.

_"You seem to find yourself in every disaster imaginable. It takes a skill to get into that many trouble Shay."_ The snake said lazily from the bed. Aries looked sourly at Nightfang when he detected a hint of mocking amusement from the snake.

Aries grunted as he let out a yawn. Recently, Nightfang had began to call him Shay but wouldn't explain to him despite his annoyance. Aries suspected it was some sort of honorary title.

_"Shut up. It's not like I intentionally got myself landed in a situation where it would blow up in my face."_ Aries grumbled sourly.

_"Perhaps not."_ Nightfang amended after a moment as his golden eyes bored into his emerald ones. _"But you certainly are good at it." _The snake mused.

_"What are you going to do now Shay?"_ He asked when Aries remained silent.

_"There are so many things needed to be done. I have to find and kill the culprit behind this and finish the tournament."_ Aries answered him as he left the bed with a sigh and began to dress.

_"You told me that much but what I want to know is what you will be doing in this castle."_ Nightfang asked as he fixed the Denarian with his golden gaze. _"I can sense something familiar within this castle. This dorm is layered with Parslemgic and I want to explore it."_

Aries stopped and looked thoughtfully at his familiar. _"Are you going to reveal that you are a Speaker?" _Nightfang asked him. _"I have no doubt that those meatbags will react in irritating manner to my presence and it's only matter of time before I'm found out anyway."_ Nightfang said as Aries cocked his head as he contemplated his choice.

_"I will eventually have to reveal that I am a Speaker but it must be done in a way that it will benefit us."_ Aries hissed back at the snake. _"But for now, I'll need to gather more information about the castle and the students. We're still lacking knowledge about our new surroundings, until then explore the dorm and tell me if you find anything interesting."_

With that, Aries threw on his white T-shirt and grumbled as he tied the silver and green necktie along with the Slytherin badge on his shirt. He never liked wearing formal clothing as they were rather stiff and often got in the way of his movements despite being able to look quite good in it. Creaking his neck and letting out a wide yawn, Aries turned to the mirror attached to one of the walls of his room and calmly gazed at the reflection staring back at him.

His black hair was as messy as ever and reached slightly below his eyes but he was able to shift it away to the side. His almond shaped, dark emerald eyes looked as piercing as ever with hint of darkness within them. Now that he had met his biological parents, he could see where he had gotten his looks from. The eyes, heart shaped face, and slim nose came from Lily Potter while his hair, mouth and slim body build came from James Potter. His emerald eyes flickered to his forehead where the faint lightning bolt shaped scar laid half hidden by the messy hair and Aries grew slightly contemplative as he stared intently at it. Ever since when Meciel helped him to destroy that weird, dark smoke from his scar that had been leeching off his magical core, the scar no longer ceased to looking so fresh and faded into light and thin looking scar. She said something about being a soul fragment and it irked him to know that that disgusting thing had been within his scar for nearly 8 years. It was a good thing then, Aries decided, that he was able to absorb its magical power before destroying it as his magical strength increased significantly as a result.

He shook his head and banished the thoughts as he turned away from the mirror and strode out to the Slytherin common room, making sure to leave the door slightly open so that Nightfang could slither out and explore the dorm when no one else was here. Almost immediately, the noise in the common room ceased as the students turned to look at the newest arrival. Unlike other 3 houses, Slytherins usually gathered in the common room before departing to the Great Hall in a single group for breakfast.

"Ahhh look who have joined us. Late as usual, just like your worthless father." Annoying and sneering voice drawled from near the front of the common room. Aries let out a sleepy yawn and a sigh at the same time and lazily turned toward the source. Although his posture was relaxed, his eyes flashed in slight annoyance. Severus Snape stood in front of the group in all his sneering glory, complete with his greasy hair.

The Slytherin head of the house glared coldly at the son of his most hated enemy and felt his left eye twitch when the boy looked at him with look of lazy disinterest and flash of annoyance. He was quite familiar with what that particular look represented. It was a look one gave when another person was nothing but a annoying pest, something worthless and insignificant but annoying at the same time.

He felt rage build as his expression turned murderous when Potter brat's let out a yawn as if dismissing him completely. "I wake up when I feel like it, Snape." Aries drawled right back at him. "And I'm only here for the tournament and the school rules don't apply to me." He replied in a flippant manner.

Slytherins were once again hushed into silence as they looked at Aries with incredulous stare while looking at their head of the house nervously. _No one_ talked back to Snape unless they had a death wish and this was the second time Aries Angelos had outright disrespected Snape within a span of few days. One could hear a pin drop in the absolute silence as the pale man's countenance grew even more murderous but the young Denarian didn't even bother acknowledging it as he calmly strode forward in a slow, sedate pace.

The gathered students parted like the Red Sea before Moses as Aries calmly walked toward Snape without all the care in the world. His expression didn't change in the slightest and had rather bored look to it. When he was within an arm's length from the greasy man, Aries looked challengingly into Snape's coal black eyes and softly whispered which nonetheless carried over the silent room. "I go wherever I want, whenever I want, and no one tells me what to do." Aries said in relaxed manner but with a hint of steel beneath it. "Be sure to remember that."

Without another word, he swept past the Slytherin head and strode out of the Slytherin dorm, leaving the rest of the students looking warily at Snape who looked just about ready to erupt.

.oOo.

Malfoy seethed silently as he glared furiously at Aries Angelos. Ever since he showed up at Hogwarts, it had been a whirlwind of events and he couldn't even get a decent chance to get his revenge for what he did to him and his family back during the Quidditich World Cup. He had thought that he would be able to make the upstart's life miserable but to his shock, Angelos seemed to just shrug off rules as if they were nothing. How dare he disrespect him so! He was a Malfoy, one of the purest of the pureblood in England and his family was at the top of the social food chain and he would pay for his insolence!

When Angelos had left them stunned with furious looking Professor Snape, it had been quite awkward and uncomfortable as he didn't know if his godfather would erupt right there and then. Instead of following that blood traiter (he is a spawn Potter after all...) as he expected, the potion master stood stock still as the muscles on his jaw flexed and coiled as if withholding great amount of fire from erupting like a enraged dragon.

Now, as he sat in the Great Hall along with other Slytherins, Draco couldn't help but to send look of hate and loathing to the filthy half blood and flickering his eyes toward the potion master as the greasy haired man looked murderously at the student in question from the staff table. Dumbledore was his usual barmy self with his brightly colored robes and twinkling eyes as he conversed quietly with Minerva MacGonagall but Draco could tell that the old man occasionally glanced at Angelos with slight frown.

_'This has gone along for far too long. That filthy bottom feeder needs to be taught a lesson!'_ Draco fumed silently as he skillfully ignored Pansy Parkinson's another mindless chatter_. 'I can't believe that he actually gets away with those kind of attitude. Tch, probably the old goat is bending backward just like he does to his precious Golden Trio.'_ He thought as he savagely stabbed the sausage on his plate.

"That filthy blood traitor needs to be taught a lesson." A voice grumbled near him while others quietly hummed in agreement. Looking up from his breakfast, Draco spotted the Carrow twins talking in hushed whisper as they periodically glared at Angelos. The other purebloods around them seemed to share their sentiment.

"And how are you going to do that?" Soft, feminine voice whispered from down the table and Draco raised his head and saw Lavina Yaxley, 5th year Slytherin girl, raised a thin eyebrow when the group turned to look at her.

"We have to make sure that he learns just who he is messing with." Draco spat out with anger as he interjected himself into the conversation. He would have his revenge one way or the other; no one screws over the Malfoys!

"Malfoy has a point." Atticus Carrow grumbled. "Have you seen his attitude? That filthy half-blood thinks that he can walk all over us, the purebloods!" He hissed quietly.

"He does needs to be taught a lesson." A girl murmured from the Atticus Carrows left as she nodded in agreement. She had a strawberry blond hair along with icy grey eyes and next to her, her twin nodded as well.

Atticus Carrow hummed as he discretely looked at his twin sisters with hint of lust. Hestia and Flora Carrow were 5th year Slytherins and a year below him and were rather pretty with being a twin to boot. They were quite bitchy and shallow but had great bodies and he had been trying unsuccessfully for several years now to get inside their pants (incest wasn't so uncommon in purebloods).

"Then we have reached an agreement." A smooth voice interrupted the conversation as black haired boy with ponytail looked up after drinking from his goblet.

"You got any plans then, Avery?" Flora Carrow asked with hint of eagerness as her grey eyes shone with malice as she smirked challengingly at him. The boy, John Avery, didn't respond immediately but stared thoughtfully at his drink.

"We need to ambush him." Avery commented after a moment of thought. "I would suggest Slytherin common room."

"And we need to make sure that he drops his guard first." Draco said in a hushed tone. "Surround him so that he can't escape." Added the blond Slytherin as he gleefully imagined disgracing the that impudent upstart. He badly wanted to be in charge of this operation, not only will he gain vengeance but also establish his dominance over the Slytherin house.

Further down the table, Daphne Greengrass couldn't help but to sigh and shake her head as she took sip of pumpkin juice. Her calculating gaze flickered between the Death Eater children and the subject of their discussion. Those idiots seemed to have forgotten about the display of power Angelos had exhibited on the Halloween night when he shattered the Goblet of Fire right after going toe-to-toe against Albus Dumbledore. Granted, he didn't exactly win against the headmaster but he was skilled enough to hold his own despite fighting against one of the most powerful wizard of the century. She doubted that they could ambush him like they are planning currently; she knew that it was one thing to make plans and another to execute it. No matter how clever or ingenious a plan was, there was always a chance that it could blow up in one's face. Most of all, they lacked any information they had about Angelos.

Daphne shifted her head slightly to have a better look at the newest member of Slytherin house without making it seem too obvious. The boy seemed utterly oblivious to curious stares or baleful glares the students in the Great Hall was giving him. The plotting pureblood bigots occasionally sent glares along his way but he didn't even look up from the plates in front of him. There was a wide empty space next to and in front of Aries Angelos but he didn't even look slightly bothered by it. In fact, as she scrutinized his face, Angelos seemed to be rather content. Any other students would be depressed and rather conscious of the way they are isolated from the rest of the house but he seemed to enjoy it.

As the infamous Ice Queen of Hogwarts, Daphne was an expert when it came to reading people's body languages. It was an extremely useful skill to have, especially if one was trying to survive unscathed in the snake pit. His hair was the unruly like any Potters' but thankfully not a like a rat's nest like James Potter's. Instead, it had more windswept look. His eyes were half-lidded as if almost asleep but she could tell by the way it discreetly flickered around him that he was alert and aware of his surroundings. The only sign that showed he was content with his solitude was the slight upward tug of his lips whenever his eyes landed in the empty space around him.

Transferring her gaze to the other 3 houses, Daphne could see occasional stares of interest from the Ravenclaws and rather terrified look Hufflepuffs gave him. The Puffs seemed more interested in not staring him, lest they attract his attention. Gryffindors, on the other hand, looked balefully at him as if accusing him of his very existence. It was hardly surprising, considering he was biologically related to Potters and yet was sorted into Slytherin. What interested her the most was the reaction from the Golden Trio.

Benjamin Potter, much to her amusement and curiosity, looked torn between looks of anger, hate, and fear. Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley just looked disgusted and glared sourly at the latest enigma. _'Potter might know something that Longbottom and Weasley don't know about Angelos.'_ Daphne thought silently as her sharp eyes narrowed in concentration. _'He's fearful of his older brother, there is no doubt about it.'_

_'He did go up to headmaster's office after the Goblet was destroyed. Potter might have learned something about him that he didn't like.'_ She deduced silently. _'But then again, it might be because he's more cowardly than the other two.'_

Lost in her thoughts, Daphne didn't realize that Snape was striding toward Aries Angelos until he was directly behind him. Pausing from eating, she looked intently at the duo just as rest of the Slytherin house followed stopped whatever they were doing to watch the show. So far, whenever those two met, it always ended with confrontation and Snape being furious.

_'This is going to be good.'_ Daphne mentally snorted as Aries turned around lazily to face the glaring head of the house.

.oOo.

Aries felt the presence approaching and had stop his hand from wandering toward his belt where his dagger and a pistol was strapped onto. Once he confirmed that the presence had stopped behind him, he nonchalantly turned around and to his disdain, saw that it was the greasy haired bastard. From the way he glared at him, Aries could easily tell that Snape hated his very existence. Dozens of acidic response leaped onto his mind but he kept his tongue silent and merely raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

"Angelos. I don't know if you had any magical education but you will be tested in different subjects taught at Hogwarts today." Snape spat out with a sneer on his lips. "The headmaster has informed me that he wishes to gauge your skill level to see if you can keep up with your year-mates."

Aries narrowed his eyes at displeasure. He had learned from experience to never show his full potential to anyone. It was always best to let your opponents think that you were weak and impotent_. 'Meciel? What do you think about this?'_ He asked silently to the Fallen.

_'It's clearly a test but so far I don't see the reason why you shouldn't try your best.'_ Meciel said after a moment of thought_. 'You are my first host who is a Wand-wizard and there are lot of fields which you have yet to master. Intentionally downplaying in the test might hurt our chances of learning new materials.'_

_'But what about Dumbledore? Wouldn't he exploit our weakness if we reveal it?' _Aries thought back worriedly.

_'We'll be living in this castle for quite a while. It's only a matter of time before that man finds out which subjects you are not good at.'_ Meciel pointed out and Aries couldn't help but to grimace at the truth. There was no way that powerful old man wouldn't figure it out when he would be living in the castle. _'It's better to reveal it now and learn the materials quickly.'_ Said Meciel.

Snapping back to the present Aries looked stoically back at Snape, although his eyes shone with just as much disdain. "When and where?"

"After the feast, headmaster will lead you to an abandoned classroom where you will be test." Snape all but snapped out. With his distasteful duty finished, Snape turned around and walked out of the Hall.

Aries watched him go with narrowed eyes. _'That guy is seriously beginning to piss me off. At the rate this is going, I'll end up murdering him along with the culprit by the end of the year.'_ Aries thought angrily.

The dinner passed by quickly and Aries waited with bored look as rest of the students filed out of the Hall to start their classes. Once everyone was gone, the staff, led by Dumbledore, approached him.

"Shall we get going?" Dumbledore asked politely and Aries merely grunted in answer.

It was a good thing that Snape was already gone, probably to teach his class, as Aries didn't even want to waste a second in that sour man's presence. Along the way, he studiously ignored the pleading look James and Lily Potter seemed to give him.

The abandoned classroom was wide and spacious and filled with empty desks and chairs. With flick of the wand, Dumbledore cleared out the dust that had gathered and Aries gingerly sat down on the chair while stretching out his legs before him. "Now Mr. Angelos, we'll be testing your knowledge in magic. For each subject, a professor will test you according." Dumbledore began as he and the rest of the staff sat down across him.

The Denarian's expression didn't change as his eyes flickered between the professor. "And what are _they_ doing here?" Aries asked pointedly as he stared at the Potters. Lily seemed to flinch from the glare her son gave him but James put a reassuring hand on his wife and evenly met his estranged son's glare.

"Lily is assistant professor for Charms while I'll be helping professor McGonagall in Transfiguration." James replied with slight frown.

Aries scowled. "She may be a professor but you are an Auror." He pointed out ignoring the visible frowns forming on staffs' faces. "I do not take kindly to a Ministry lapdog spying on me." He finished with sharp glare.

"I'm not Ministry's lapdog!" James replied heatedly while ignoring how sharp that comment cut into him.

"Your uniform says otherwise." Aries sneered.

"Mr. Angelos. I would vouch for James. He won't be reporting this to the Ministry." Dumbledore interjected before the argument escalated.

Dozens of scathing comments popped up in his thoughts but Aries scowled and decided to keep silent. He just wanted to get this over with as quickly as he could. "Fine. Let's get this over with." He grumbled sourly.

Dumbledore heaved a sigh and wearily looked at the would-be-delinquent. As of right now, the chance of reconciliation between the child and the parents were almost none. "Did you receive any formal education over the years?" Dumbledore questioned.

"I had... tutors of sort over the years." Aries replied as he thought of all the things he had learned under Meciel's guidance as well as the time he spent under Dresden's guidance. While he wasn't a True-mage, he was still able to learn True-magic over the years he worked with him. "But I'm not sure if it would fit into your curriculum and there were some subjects where I didn't learn anything at all."

Dumbledore briefly frowned at the information. No doubt he was referring to the Fallen living in his head. He inwardly shivered at whatever the Fallen had taught to young Angelos. "We'll begin with Transfiguration and determine which year level you'll be placed into." Said Dumbledore.

Aries sighed and let out a groan as he beheld a rolled up parchment on the stern looking witch's hand. _'A test. A freaking test. I've never thought that I would actually take that again.' _He grunted while pointedly ignoring a small chuckle the twinkled eyed old man let out.

.oOo.

_'I have decided that these Wand-wizards are officially one of the dumbest people ever... in the history of mankind.'_ Aries fumed silently as he massaged his cramped hand. For past few hours, he was forced to sit on a chair and go through tests of the subjects taught at Hogwarts while performing it as well. _'I mean c'mon! Who the hell uses fucking quills as writing utensils in the 21st century!'_ He snarled mentally as he glared balefully at the blotted ink spots staining the test papers and his hand.

Nearly a dozen of broken quills lay on the top of the desk next to his. The quills were all snapped in half. _'And what's with using a parchment as a paper? Do these guys even know about a notebook or a scantron?'_ He thought sourly.

"Here all done." He grunted as he pushed away the ink-stained parchment away from him. The said parchment floated to the air and drifted toward Dumbledore who, with inexhaustible patience, sat silently on his chair while the Denarian was forced to take a test.

The Transfiguration test was a disaster. He couldn't even pass the first test, which was transfiguring a matchstick into needle. While he was definitely talented when it came to Dark Arts (or anything related to causing destruction and chaos), he had absolutely no idea on how to do transfiguration. In his frustration, Aries had poured his magic into the matchstick with brute force but it ended up exploding, as well as the desk it was lying on top of. Although Meciel had amassed enormous amount of knowledge and spells throughout the eons, especially charms and destruction magic, she had never encountered subjects such as Transfiguration or Potions.

The Charms was a piece of cake. It was one of the first magic he had learned under Meciel's guidance and he used it practically every day. While he and Meciel agreed that Wand-wizards were seriously lacking in logic, they were a pro with a Ph.D degree when it came to taking an easy way out. Charms was the ultimate testament to how lazy Wand-wizards could be. He had already mastered almost all household charms (why do things by hand when he could flick his wand and take care of it?) by the time he was nearly 11 and it was one of Meciel's expertise.

Herbology was rather easy as well. Meciel knew almost all muggle plants and fungi as well as several magical plants. Potions, on the other hand, was an utter failure. He didn't even know a single thing about it and Snape, much to his delight, had taken criticizing him, at least until Aries began to criticize his teaching style, his greasy hair, and his failure as a human. Dumbledore had to quickly intervene before it turned out into a shouting match followed by a brawl.

The History of Magic, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy was also quite easy. Meciel had lived through almost all major events in human history and was an expert at it. While she wasn't as knowledgeable in magical history like Muggle world history, she did know general gist of it. Ancient Runes was rather lot like those Aries had learned from Meciel. His occasional summoning of Faes meant that he had to draw runic circles of summoning and he had carved out various runes in his home for protection purposes. Arithmancy was a magical discipline that studies magical properties of numbers. By applying this principle to casting of magic, spells could be broken down and determined as well as create entirely a new one. Quite frankly, Arithmancy was like remedial mathematics despite being rather long and boring; it was mostly addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. To Aries, who had learned up to Trigonometry (Meciel forced him to learn that one and Aries didn't even want to go anywhere near Calculus), it was quite evident that Wand-wizards didn't know anything beyond basic mathematics.

Care of Magical Creatures and Divination looked rather promising despite his lack of knowledge on the subjects. It was almost guaranteed that he would someday end up dealing (most likely fighting) some magical creatures and predicting futures could be useful for his plans.

Defense Against Dark Arts wasn't even worth bothering. With his extensive knowledge of Dark Arts, he aced it without even trying.

"Well Mr. Angelos, it seems that you are severely lacking in subjects such as Potions, Transfiguration and Divination." Dumbledore said as he peered at the result of his tests. "However, you are much farther ahead of your peers in Charms, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Defense Against Dark Arts."

"I'm not all that surprised." Aries hummed as he languidly stretched his cramped muscles. "I've been using those subjects since I was young and I never did a Transfiguration or Potions in my life before."

"You'll be placed in first year Transfiguration and Potions while all the other classes will be with your year-mates. Also, you will need to choose two electives between Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Divination, and Care of Magical Creatures." Said Dumbledore as he put down the result parchment.

"You seem awfully sure that I'll be attending these classes." Aries commented blandly as he evenly met Dumbledore's twinkling gaze.

"Well, you will be staying at Hogwarts despite coming here only for the tournament." Dumbledore replied lightly. "And you have been sorted so that makes you a student."

_'Not everything is all bad Aries.'_ Meciel's soft voice whispered. _'Think of it this way, it's a chance for you to become stronger than you are. Not every battle is fought using brute strength and raw power. Learning these materials will give you new strategies to use and I have no doubt they will come handy in future.'_ She soothed his growing ire and annoyance.

As much as he didn't like it, Aries couldn't argue with her logic. He didn't survive this long by refusing to not accept new ways to gain power and logic was one of the first and perhaps the most important lessons he learned throughout the harshness that was his life. "Fine, but there is no way I'll be going to classes with First years. I'm going with my year mates but will be just learning from the beginning." He grunted out.

Dumbledore thought for a moment before inclining his head in acceptance. "And what about your electives?" He inquired.

_'Historical information is my specialty. I doubt you'll learn much from Ancient Runes or Arithmancy.'_ Meciel said as her host hummed lightly. _'So instead, try out for Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. Learning to predict the future could be extremely helpful and I have no doubt knowing about magical creatures will come handy as well.'_

_'True but I think we should inspect the classes first.'_ Aries suggested as he shrewdly calculated the choice that would bring the most benefit to them.

Snapping out of his mental conversation, Aries saw Dumbledore eye him patiently, no doubt waiting for him to finish speaking to Meciel. "I would like to attend these classes first before making my choice." Aries informed him of the decision.

"A wise choice." Dumbledore smiled as blue eyes twinkled more brightly. "Not many people make a choice like you do."

"I learned to make the best choice possible." Aries replied with a shrug. When your survival was on stake, you either adapted quickly and learned to make best choices to keep yourself alive or suffer the consequences and die.

Stretching out his legs, Aries stood up and accepted his schedule from Dumbledore. "Until you choose your electives, this will be your schedule." Said the headmaster as the Denarian walked out of the room.

.oOo.

The first class was Charms. It was taught by a small man named Filius Flitwick who seemed to have rather upbeat and lively attitude. By the time he entered the classroom, Aries could tell that he was little late. The moment he opened the door, the class quieted and silence permeated room as the students stopped whatever they were doing to stare at him. It was split between Slytherins and Hufflepuffs and both sides watched him closely as if looking at a dangerous predator walking through their homes. Aries glared right back at them and with frightful squeaks, the Hufflepuffs immediately returned to their works and Slytherins shifted their eyes to their desks as if suddenly finding whatever was in front of them quite fascinating.

The most interesting reaction, however, was that of diminutive professor. The cheerful attitude seemed to evaporate from him as he beheld him and as an expert on body language, Aries could tell subtle shifts of nervousness. "M-Mr. Angelos do come in an-and have a seat." Flitwick squeaked almost nervously.

Aries silently made his way toward an empty seat and causally sat down, almost giving the boy next to him fright as he gulped silently and subtly shift away from him in nervousness. The Charms professor quickly regained the attention of the class once more but there still was hint of anxiety judging by the way his eyes flickered away from him.

It was almost like... _'A goblin?'_ Meciel mused as Aries raised an eyebrow slightly before closely scrutinizing the tiny professor. _'I can sense that he is a part goblin. And like full blooded goblins, it seems that he could subconsciously sense my presence.'_ Meciel said with slight amusement.

_'Will that be a problem?'_ Aries asked her as he narrowed his eyes. If he could truly sense Meciel, than it might be problematic for him and he might need to be disposed of or blackmailed to never reveal his secret.

_'No I don't think so. He isn't a full-blooded goblin so his senses aren't as sharp.'_ Meciel answered after a moment_. 'What he's feeling would probably just uneasiness. But it might be a good idea to keep an eye on him.'_

Aries opted to leave the Charms professor to his own devices until he decided to do act against him. With his decision made, the renegade leaned back on his chair and let out a stifled yawn while Meciel paid focused attention to the tiny professor as he went over the beginning concept of advanced spell called Patronus Charm.

"As some of you may have heard, the Patronus Charm is an extremely advanced and one of the most difficult charm that you can master." Flitwick squeaked excitedly as his eyes shone with passion he had for subject. "I do not teach this Charm until you are a Seventh year student but for those who are interested I can give basic introduction."

The class murmured excitedly at one another. Flitwick chuckled as he flicked his wand forward and firmly called out the incantation. _"Expecto Patronum!"_

From the end of his wand, something white and silvery erupted and the room was filled with bright light. The presence of powerful magic filled the his senses and Aries immediately leaned forward and tensed his muscles as he stared intently at the bright light coming from the wand of the tiny professor. In his head, he could feel Meciel stir with slight surprise and amazement as the silver light took a form of a panther. The beast prowled around the class as if searching for threats and the class broke into a murmur of awe and loud applause as Professor Flitwick broke into a hearty chuckle.

Aries stayed silent but was reluctantly impressed. As a Denarian, he was much more sensitive to the magic and from the silvery creature he could feel something quite peculiar about it. It felt both wonderful and somewhat distasteful at the same time as he furrowed his eyebrows in attempt to categorize his senses.

"This is the Patronus Charm." Flitwick happily informed them as the panther moved toward the small professor and he gave a small but affectionate pet to it before vanishing it. "The Patronus Charm is a manifestation of positive emotions and is powered by it." He said jovially.

_'No wonder it felt like that.' _Meciel said with understanding. _'What you've been sensing was an array of positive emotions that had been given a corporeal form by magic.'_

_'Do you think it's something like a holy magic?'_ Aries asked as he remembered slight uncomfortable sensation he felt earlier.

Meciel hummed as she thoughtfully pondered the question. _'I don't think so, at least not entirely.'_ She answered after few moments. _'While it's not a holy magic, it still has the same concept. I think that's why it was somewhat uncomfortable for us.'_

"The main purpose of Patronus Charm is to fight Dementors, which unfortunately some of you had experienced last year." Said Professor Flitwick. Some of the students shivered as they remembered the last year when Peter Pettigrew had escaped from Azkaban prison and Dementors had to guard Hogwarts.

_'Dementors. Isn't that the guards of the wizarding prison?'_ Aries asked curiously. He had been keeping taps in the wand-wizarding world occasionally, usually through Cessbulby.

_'They are lowly demons that feed off positive emotions and bring despairs to anyone near them.'_ Meciel answered with a sniff of disdain. _'Unlike most demons, they are creatures of cold and can suck your soul out through your mouth.'_

_'Will they be any trouble to us if we happen to cross them?'_ Aries thought back as he narrowed his eyes in displeasure.

_'No, like Fae Glamors or Veela Allure, their aura of despair can be countered by Hellfire.' _Said Meciel as the part of his brain where Fallen Angel resided pulsed with warmth. _'And they are not as strong as the former.'_

"The Patronus Charm can also deliver messages to another person." Flitwick continued to lecture them. "The shape of the Patronus depends on the person and as you can see, mine was a panther."

"Can you teach it to us professor?" One of the students in Hufflepuff asked excitedly.

"I'm afraid not Mr. Mendez, Patronus Charm is very difficult and most adults can't even cast it and you don't start on it until you are a Seventh year." Flitwick answered as the boy who asked the question slumped back down. "But to those of you who wish to study it, the incantation is _'Expecto Patronum.'_"

_'Do you think we'll be able to learn it?'_ Aries asked his guardian angel as Flitwick resumed his lecture about Charms. _'I have a feeling that only those with pure hearts or good intentions are able to cast it.'_

_'Hmmm. That is a distinct possibility.' _Meciel mused. _'It is rather fascinating spell but I doubt with Hellfire at your arsenal, you won't be needing that spell.'_

Aries shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly. While Patronus Charm looked rather interesting, he'd pick Hellfire over some flashy light show any day.

.oOo.

Walking down the corridor, the Denarian renegade sighed and felt his lips tug downward in a frown as twisted his neck left and right to stretch his muscles. The rest of the classes had passed by quickly (slowly in his opinion) and he wasn't overly impressed with the classes offered at Hogwarts. While it may be one of the premier magical schools in Europe, the staff and the class wasn't impressive much, at least to him anyway. The History of Magic was a complete and utter joke. Dumbledore gave him spare textbooks he would need for the classes this year and Binns, the ghost teacher of history, droned on and on about Goblin Wars and nothing else. When Aries realized that he was reciting the exact words from the textbook, he immediately peeped into several minds of his classmates and found out that Binns had been doing that for who knows how long. Realizing nothing could be learned from him anyway, Aries simply left the half-asleep classroom.

The Ancient Runes class, taught by Professor Babbling, wasn't worth bothering. Meciel, who had millennia to hone her numerous talents already knew everything about the class. The same extended to Arithmancy, which was taught by Professor Vector. The mind of immortal being was vastly different from that of mortal. One of the many perks of having Meciel living in his head was that it was like having a built-in calculator in his head.

The Care of Magical Creatures showed some promise. The school's Groundkeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, was passionate about the subject despite being a clumsy half-giant. For some reason, he seemed to stare at him whenever he thought the Denarian wasn't looking and always averted his eyes quickly whenever Aries caught his gaze. Despite being a knowledgeable teacher of the subject, his atrocious accent, combined with his love for dangerous animals made him rethink about attending the class. Seriously, who the hell in their right mind would call the ugly beasties like Blasted-Ended Skrewts cute?

And then there was Divination. Meciel had such a high hopes for the subject but within 10 minutes into the class, Aries could tell the Sybill Trelawney, the Divination professor, was an incompetent fraud. The room smelled of various herbs and fumes of candles that made his head swim and drowsy and he decided to just take a nap at the back of the class. He was rather rudely awakened by the professor who was screeched about his death and he decided to leave the class before he gave into the temptation and decapitated the fraud of professor.

He didn't even bother with Astronomy. The fact that the class started at midnight, when the stars were already out by 9:00 p.m. completely turned him off. There was no way he was going to sacrifice his precious sleep time for the sake of the class that wasn't going to benefit him much. How would watching the stars help him kill off his enemies?

Transfiguration, on the other hand, was such a frustrating subject for him. Despite the enormous tactical advantage the subject promised, Aries just couldn't get the damn things to change. While he had iron-clad control over his magic, the Hellfire by nature was violent and destructive force and it interfered from doing anything delicate, such as Transfiguration.

Needless to say, Aries was tired and in foul mood as he walked to the last class of the day: Potions. If he remembered right, the class was taught by that greasy failure of life, Snape. Also, it didn't help that whispers followed him wherever he went as people craned their necks and huddled with their friends whenever they caught the sight of him. Normally, he wouldn't care in the slightest but he was already in foul mood. They quickly shut their mouth when he glared at them.

The Potions classroom was dark and damp with variety of unknown smells. It the classic scene straight out from the movies. The students spoke in quiet, hushed whispers as he scanned the seats. Ignoring them, Aries strode toward the very back seat of the class and sat down languidly. On each tables, there was a cauldron with stirring tool.

Few more students came in and not a moment too soon after the last student sat down, the door to the classroom burst open to reveal Snape in all his greasy glory. He swept into the room with his robes billowing dramatically and he reminded Aries of a large bat. Swiftly he began to take roll calls and the moment he reached his name, Snape sneered maliciously.

"Ahhh Mr. Angelos, the Prodigal Son had returned at last. Looks like you finally decided to grace us with your presence." Snape whispered mockingly and Aries narrowed his eyes as rest of the Slytherins snickered while Gryffindors looked on with satisfied smirk.

_'This guy is seriously testing my patience. He crossed the line far too many times already.'_ Aries thought as he glared coldly at the greasy asshole.

"I have the result from your test and I must say, Mr. Angelos, you are a major disappointment." Snape sneered gleefully while the snickers from the rest of the Slytherins increased. "You scored absolute zero and is at the First year level." He said snarkily as even Gryffindors let out snickers.

_'That's it. I'm going to kill this guy.' _Aries decided with deathly intent. _'I'll make sure to torture him to the brink of insanity before offing him.'_

"Let's have a test to see if you are smarter than a First Year, Angelos." Snape whispered as his eyes shone with hate and glee at the thought of making the son of his hated nemesis miserable.

"What would I get if I added a powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Snape fired off his question.

_'I can't help you here beloved'_ Meciel whispered as she soothed her host growing fury. _'I never had any contact with wizarding potions.'_

_'Then I might as well make it difficult for him.' _Aries thought maliciously.

"Hmmm. Judging by the greasiness of your hair, I would have to say it's the secret formula for your greasy hair." Aries replied mockingly as he smugly met Snape's stare without fear.

The Potion's classroom hushed immediately as the snickers died away instantly. Gryffindors and Slytherins alike stared at him with shock written on their faces but it was Snape's reaction that amused the Denarian the most. His pallid skin seemed to grow redder as the expression on his face became slowly thunderous. "Twenty points off from Slytherin for your cheek Angelos!" Snape spat out.

The Potion professor seethed angrily as he strode forward until he stood before the impudent brat's desk. However, Aries Angelos didn't look even remotely intimated but instead looked slightly amused.

"Let's see if you can answer correctly this time." Snape practically snarled as spits flew off from his mouth. "Where would I find a beozar?"

"All the way up your ass." Aries answered flippantly without missing a beat.

"Fourty points off Slytherin and a week of detention Angelos!" Snape snapped as the muscles on his face coiled as if to physically hold himself from attacking the boy in front of him.

_'Almost there, he just needs a little bit more push.'_ Meciel chuckled in his mind. While she wouldn't normally condone such actions, this man needed to be taught a lesson. The moment he attacked her host, she would unleash her ancient fury and teach this worthless mortal for daring to cross the Denarian and his Fallen Angel.

"Now now Severus there is no need for you to blame others for your short comings." Aries cooed gently as he leaned back on the chair he was sitting on. Snape seemed to go stiff as a statue as he stonily glared at him.

"I would really like to insult you but I don't think there is a need to." Aries continued mockingly as his half-lidded eyes watched Snape grow even more furiously by a second. "I mean look at you, your mom already did all the work for me."

By this point Snape was trembling with suppressed fury but the Denarian continued to smile amusedly at him.

No one fucks with him and gets away with it.

"This is what, like our third meeting? And I can already tell that you are a magnificent failure of life. In fact, the best part of you probably ran down between your mother legs onto the sheets below when you were conceived." Aries said airily as he made a tsking noise.

His cold emerald eyes clashed with furious coal black eyes of Snape and suddenly, Meciel started as Aries felt something slide into his mind_. 'Legilimency. He's probing your mind!'_ Meciel hissed angrily.

It took all his will power to _not_ slam his mental barriers into place as he allowed Snape's mental probe to shoot deeper into his mind. This wasn't just a mental probing, this was a mental attack with intent to cause harm and pain. However, just before Snape's bulldozing mental attack could cause harm to his mind, Meciel's fiery and majestic presence surrounded the intruder as the burning Hellfire roared into his forefront. The smell of sulfur filled his nostrils as dark desires and ecstasy overwhelmed his mind. Snape's eyes widened in shock as dark and almost maniacal smile crossed the lips of Denarian. Snape reflexively tried to pull out but Aries continued to hold him from escaping as the fires of Hell seared and ripped into Snape's mental probe.

A chocked gasp escaped Snape as he remained rooted to the spot, unable to escape from the confines of the boy's mind. To the students viewing the confrontation, it was as if Snape was undergoing a small seizure as the two glared at one another without breaking eye contact. Aries gave a small grunt as Meciel's lashed out with her majestic and cascading power. In a wordless snarl of vicious hatred and rage, the Fallen violently ejected the foreign intruder from the Aries' mind.

His glazed eyes refocused as Meciel's majestic and powerful presence faded to the back of his mind with immense satisfaction. Aries' eyes immediately found Snape as he gave a cry of pain just as his head was snapped back, as if a bullet had slammed into his forehead. His entire body was flung across the room as he smashed through his desk, eliciting a cry of shock from the gathered students.

The desk, unable to stop the momentum of potion's professor tip over with a loud thud. Snape struggled to raise himself up with his hands and knees while panting heavily as he greedily sucked in oxygen. Slytherins and Gryffindors froze alike as they watched Aries almost arrogantly approach the fallen form of their potion's professor. Gone were their snickers of ridicule but instead, they were looking at the him with fear as they watched with morbid interest.

"I see you finally acknowledged your short-comings." Aries said arrogantly just so that he could add more fuel to the fire.

Despite suffering from immense physical and mental pain, Snape somehow managed to raise his head to glare furiously at the smug looking form of Aries Angelos. "This world is already riddled with so many scums. And like cockcroaches, they deserve to be exterminated." Aries said in deathly calm voice as his cold emerald eyes flashed eerily.

"Do you know how annoying insects like them are eliminated?" Aries asked as cold and merciless smile lit his face.

"Boot." He gestured at his foot.

"And ant." Said Aries stoically as he glared pointedly at furious looking Snape.

Before Snape could say anything (not that he could), the Denarian renegade raised his foot and slammed it down at the back of Snape's head as a sickening crack filled the classroom. The gathered students flinched in horror as a painful gurgle escaped their potion's professor. Before them, stood Aries Angelos, as he planted his foot on Snape's head as he savagely grinded the man's face onto the cold stone floor below. What terrified them the most, however, was the inhumane and almost alien look on the face of the Denarian. It was utterly void of any emotion, just like those few moments when Aries had managed Winter Faes to show their true face to him.

Cold, alien, and inhumane. Devoid of anything.

"You should learn to respect your superiors." Aries commented coldly as his eyes glowed like twin beams of Avada Kadevra in the dim lightings of the dungeon. He opened his mouth to speak out the potion professor's name but something stopped him. Something alien yet almost strangely familiar as if from the half-forgotten dream.

"Snivellus." Aries hissed.

With one last glare at the pathetic potion master, Aries turned and strode out of the room. Leaving deathly silent classroom only broken by ragged breathing of one Severus Snape.

.oOo.

By dinner time, the confrontation between Severus Snape and Aries Angelos had spread like a wildfire. Few moments after Aries Angelos had walked out of the dungeon classroom, silence was broken by a loud cacophony of noise as all of them began to talk at once. Gryffindors, almost immediately ran out of the classroom, all of them almost shouting in frenzy and excitement at finally seeing the hated potion master getting one hell of smackdown, by a Slytherin no less. Besides, they all hated him and didn't want help him to Hospital Wing or be anywhere near Snape when he undoubtedly exploded.

Slytherins, on the other hand, was torn between the choice of helping him, which no one wanted to do in fear of Snape exploding at their faces, and running out of the classroom like Gryffindors had done. Some of them discreetly left but the majority was rooted to their seats in indecision. Thankfully, one of the Slytherins who had left discreetly had alerted the school nurse, who immediately came down running and quickly escorted the injured potion master to the Hospital Wing.

Amanda Carpenter sighed as her fellow lions excitedly chatted about Aries Angelos latest act of chaos, again. Honestly, the boy seemed to leave behind a trail of chaos and destruction everywhere he went. When a group of fifth years seemingly barged into the Gryffindor common room yelling about Snape getting owned at the top of their lungs, Amanda and others been quite shocked. Once they had calmed down enough, they practically ordered an impromptu house meeting and began to explain the event in great detail.

She was shocked when she learned that Aries had managed to beat up a teacher in such brutal manner but couldn't completely feel pity for the resident potion master. She already had attended one of his classes and was shocked and outraged to find out the rumors regarding his favoritism toward his house was true as well as his harassment toward any students other than Slytherins. If such thing happened in Salem, the teacher in question would have immediately been fired with severe repercussions.

As a Christian with her father working as one of the Knights of the Cross, she had been taught from the birth about the virtue of forgiveness and pity, however, potion professors blatant bias and hostile attitude made it rather difficult. The only other person who seemed horrified about the incident was the bushy-haired girl Hermione Granger. Most Gryffindors, predictably, was very happy about Snape getting the just reward and laughed out loud with cheers.

It's been a while since she had talked with the Denarain renegade who saved her life as well as her family's. Ever since he had stormed out of the room back in Hogsmeade, she never interacted with him other than that time in the Dumbledore's office. It was puzzling that Hogwarts still used the house system despite being a tradition. It needlessly separated people and encouraged discord amongst the school. Thankfully, she was able to keep her growing friendship with Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot. The two Hufflepuffs were very friendly and was quite interested in Salem themselves.

And last but not the least, she struck some sort of casual relationship with the Golden Trio as the people called. She was understandably curious to meet the blood brother of Aries Angelos, who was one of the Boys-Who-Lived. Yet to her dismay, she found that Benjamin Potter was a loud and arrogant person like some people she knew back at Salem. Neville Longbottom wasn't much better although he was somewhat less of a jerk since Hermione Granger was able to influence. Ronald Weasley, on the other hand, disgusted her with his atrocious table manner as well as his pig-headiness and lack of etiquette. For God's sake, his eyes seemed to constantly drift downward to her chest and rear end whenever they talked.

Aries Angelos, despite being a Denarian and possessing a rude attitude, never stared at her chest or her butt when they were talking, unless it was purposely done to embarrass her. Yet, conversing with Ronald Weasley made her rather uncomfortable the way his eyes wandered up and down her body. Also, she had the pleasure of meeting the resident bookworm Hermione Granger. The bushy haired girl almost jumped at a chance to meeting a foreign exchange student and since then, had been rapidly asking numerous questions regarding the differences between Hogwarts and Salem.

"I heard that Angelos kid smashed his foot against Snape's head." Muttered the Irish boy, Dean Thomas.

"Damn, I would give 20 Galleons to be there when that happened." Seamus Finnegan sighed longingly.

Shaking her head, Amanda turned away from the conversation and saw Hermione glaring angrily at the two boys before letting out an annoyed huff. One of the few things she learned about the bookworm was that she _revered_ authority and strictly followed the rules to the letter.

"Honestly, how could they be acting like that." She scowled with displeasure.

"Well from what I heard, Gryffindors never liked Snape." Amanda said diplomatically as she delicately cut the stake.

"Professor Snape." Hermione automatically corrected her.

"Oh give it up Hermione." Neville spoke up as he rolled his eyes while Benjamin shook his head. "I don't get why you bother to call him a professor. Snape got what he deserved."

Before she could open her mouth to retort furiously at their apparent lack of respect, a hush fell over the Great Hall as many of the heads seemed to be glued to the front of the Hall. "What are they-" Hermione muttered.

The answer was soon made itself known as a raven haired boy with cold emerald eyes slipped into the Hall. Despite the fact that almost everyone was staring at him, Aries Angelos never faltered a step as he nonchalantly walked to the Slytherin table. If anything, there was a small smirk of satisfaction on his lips when rest of the Slytherins edged away from him.

"Amanda, how could you be a friend with him?" Ron asked bluntly with all the tact of pig racing through a antique office. As he glared distastefully at the Denarian while shoving another baked potato to his nearly full mouth.

Amanda frowned at his lack of manner and etiquette just as Hermione began to lecture the red head for being rude. "I knew him for several years now." She commented as she nibbled on her lower lips while looking at the boy who saved her life.

"Yeah but he's a Slytherin. Granted, he's the Slytherin who beat up Snape but Slytherin nonetheless." Ron pressed as Neville and Benjamin shared a glance before leaning forward with interest.

"So what does it matter if he's a Slytherin?" Amanda retorted with a frown. "And as a Salem student, I don't care much about the house rivalries." She pointed out.

When Ron looked ready to argue by putting foot to his mouth and Hermione ready to lecture him once more, Neville quickly cut in before it could lead to another headache. "There isn't a single wizard or witch who didn't go bad in Slytherin." He answered darkly. "Many of the Dark Lords supporters were in Slytherin."

"But he still saved my life and my family when there was no need to." Amanda countered as she sighed exasperatedly. How did Hermione deal with them for nearly four years was a mystery. She could feel a headache growing just by having this conversation.

Across the Hall, Aries sat alone and away from the rest as he leisurely enjoyed the feast. If there was one thing coming to Hogwart was beneficial, it was food. After properly beating Snape in his own game, he had walked off to cool his head as well as savor the savage thrill he felt whenever he destroyed his enemies. He decided to go explore the castle until dinner and judging by the way they watched him like a hawk, the rumor had already spread. That and also the fact that Snape was missing on the staff table.

_'And here comes the messenger.'_ Meciel said mildly. _'Almost right on schedule.'_

Opening his half-lidded eyes, he saw McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor, walking stiffly toward him to the interest of the Hall. "Mr. Angelos, the headmaster requests your presence at his office after dinner." She said stiffly as her lips thinned when Aries didn't even looked guilty.

"Hmmm. I suppose this is about the potion incident?" Aries asked in uncaring way as he tried a delicious sirloin rib. This caused the stern witch to narrow her eyes before nodding curtly. With the message delivered, she quickly returned to the staff table.

_'I wonder if I'll get summoned to his office every single day.' _Aries thought amusedly. _'Who am I kidding, it would be a miracle if I didn't. I wonder if I can give Dumbledore a stroke before I leave this place.'_

.oOo.

Lily Potter sat nervously in the headmaster's office as she resisted the temptation to walk back and forth in sheer anxiety. When she heard that Aries had attacked Severus and had him hospitalized, she didn't know what to feel. She knew that despite many years, Severus still held on to the grudge against James and by extension, her sons. Benjamin always complained the way Snape treated him but never in her life time that she thought her son would end up attacking her childhood friend.

While she wasn't on the best terms with him, she still respected Snape. She so badly wanted to talk to Aries, her estranged firstborn but so far never had the chance to. He made it abundantly clear that he didn't consider her his mother and literally cut the familiar ties between them by renouncing the Potter name. Even going far as to name himself Angelos. It hurt her to see her very flesh and blood reject her.

Biting her lips, Lily composed herself. Ever since that night when she learned the truth of her son's past, she couldn't bear to look at her son's eyes any more. Part of her was horrified at the way Aries gleefully admitted to having murdered her sister and in-laws, his aunt and uncle. Yet, another part of her was ashamed of herself for placing her son at such hostile environment. She had thought that Petunia would have let go of such petty hatred but she was clearly wrong. And now, she had to pay for her mistake.

He was so different from what she expected, what she remembered. Other than his looks, there was no trace of her or James in him. It was almost looking at a complete stranger. Where was her compassion, love of knowledge, or sense of righteousness. What about James? Where was his honor, chivalry, or love of prank? Benjamin had inherited some of these traits but what about Aries?

He was nothing like them. He was so cold, so cruel as he laughed at the death of Dursleys as if it was a funny thing. He disregarded chivalry and compassion as 'worthless weaknesses.' And now he had even managed to attack one of the professors.

Next to her was James and Sirius as they quietly spoke with one another. Their faces were solemn in contrast to easy going smiles and mischievous twinkles they had normally. The other professors were gathered as well. Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick were patiently waiting for her son while Pomona Sprout was speaking with Dumbledore.

There was a sharp knock on the door and Dumbledore looked up from his discussion with Pomona. "Come in." He called.

The door opened and like the last time, Aries had his feet spread out as he avoided standing on the stone slab at the base of the door. Without a word, Aries calmly strode into the room with almost a bored look to him.

"Please sit." Dumbledore gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Lemon drops?" He asked as popped one of the candies onto his mouth. Aries merely gave him Are-You-Kidding-Me look.

"Well I suppose you know the reason for this visit?" Dumbledore inquired politely as the rest of the professors looked sharply at the culprit.

The culprit in question shrugged and leaned back on the chair languidly much to the disapproval of Minerva who glared at such lack of respect. "There are lot of reasons Dumbledore." Aries said mildly. "Global warming, Wand-wizards lack of logic, their horrible sense of fashion, and etc.."

"I'm talking about the certain incident that happened in the potion's classroom today." Dumbledore replied just as mildly, unwilling to rise to his bait.

"What about it?" Aries asked with a bored look. "I have better things to do you know. Like investigating how my name came out of the goddamned goblet."

James could only watched with wide eyes as his estranged son blatantly disrespect one of the most powerful man alive. Any student would find themselves tongue-tied and nervous in front of this man but not his son. If anything, Aries looked rather irritated for being called up instead of fidgeting with guilt, which many would have reacted in such way if they were called up here for assaulting a professor.

"You attacked a professor my boy." Dumbledore said with a sigh."This is a serious offense if you cared at all."

"He deserved it." Aries waved it away like it was nothing while McGonagall drew herself up as if readying herself to launch a furious tirade against the boy.

"And what prompted you to attack a professor Mr. Angelos?" Dumbledore asked patiently.

"He was baiting me. He tried to ridicule me but obviously it ended up blowing up in his face." Aries answered with derisive snort.

"And that gives you a right to attack a professor?" McGonagall snapped angrily. "This is school Mr. Angelos and Hogwarts is a premier school where such blatant rule breaking is prohibited!"

"I had every right." Aries said coolly as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "One of them being self-defense."

"Self-defense?" Filius questioned.

"He attacked me first so I decided to respond in kind." Aries sneered as glared at the Deputy Headmistress.

"And pray tell, how did he attack you?" Said Dumbledore as he peered closely at the Denarian.

"Legilimency." Aries answered coldly.

"He tried Legilimency on you?!" James gaped angrily. Using Legilimency on anyone, especially children was strictly forbidden unless they had expressive consent.

"Judging by your reactions, I assume that grease ball left the part out." Aries said dryly. "A professor who belittles and ridicules his students as well as using Legilimency when angered. A premier school where such blatant rule breaking is prohibited indeed." Aries scorned mockingly as sarcasm oozed from every single syllable while glaring pointedly at McGonagall.

"Albus I will not stand for this!" James snapped angrily. "That bastard had gone way too far! I'll be handing in a formal report for this!"

"Now I'm sure-"

"No Albus, don't try to stop me. That bastard have been causing far too many trouble." James retorted hotly.

Dumbledore sighed. This was much more complicated than he had first expected. He had hoped that Severus would curb his hostility to Aries Angelos despite the fact that he no longer considered himself a Potter but it was clearly wrong.

"Let us see for what really happened." Said Dumbledore as he flicked his wand and a large silvery looking basin floated out.

"A pensieve." Aries muttered.

"I assume you know what to do then?" Dumbledore asked as he moved the object on top of his desk.

With a flick of his wrist, his wand shot out from his forearm sheath and pressed it to his head. Carefully, he extracted the memory so that Meciel's presence wouldn't be alerted to others. After depositing the memory, he watched as the professors tapped their wands at pensieve to view his memory.

When they came back to themselves, Aries chuckled coldly as he noticed many of them looked rather pale. "Quite funny the way Snivellus groveled before me isn't it?" He asked with dark smile.

James Potter looked rather sickly as he slumped down on his chair. The way his son brutally destroyed Snape sent a cold shiver down his spine. Oh, he had humiliated Snape back during the school days before but this was far out of his league. It was undoubtedly done with dark intent.

_'Was I like this back during those days? Is this how far my son had fallen?'_ He thought miserably.

Dumbledore couldn't help but to grimace as he remembered way how Aries had grinded Snape's face onto the stone floor. The way he did it reminded him far too much of Tom Riddle. The brutal display of his power and the way he humiliated Severus, the fear he generated was like how Voldemort controlled his Death Eaters.

"I'm disappointed in you Aries." Dumbledore said at last as he gazed at the young boy who in many ways, a mirror image of Tom Riddle.

"Oh please don't even bother with that 'I'm-disappointed-in-you-look' Dumbledore." Aries retorted with mocking tone. "It might work on your students or those who believe sun shines out of your ass but to a person like me, it means nothing."

The silence was broken when Pomona Sprout spoke up. "What shall we do headmaster?

"We can't ignore this Albus. While Severus might have cast Legilimency on him, Angelos still reacted unnecessarily violent." McGonagall reasoned as she cast a disapproving glare toward Aries who simply gave a mocking grin.

Dumbledore sighed. "As much as your idea hold merit Minerva, I don't think we can do anything." He said in resigned voice as he stared at Denarian's ice-cold eyes.

"Bu-But He attacked a professor! There needs to be a punishment!" Minerva sputtered.

"Ohhhh! I'm sooo scared." Aries said sarcastically as laughter fought its way through despite the scathing glare every professor in the room gave him. "What you gonna do? Expel me? See if I care." He chuckled at the furious expression on the stern witch's face.

"Punishment would only work if Aries wants to stay at Hogwarts." Dumbledore explained as he tried to calm down the Gryffindor head. "Even if we dock points, assign him detentions, or expel him, he wouldn't care in the least."

"Ah finally you are learning something." Aries snorted as his smug eyes clashed against angry eyes of McGonagall.

"But didn't he swear an oath to not attack people?" Lily spoke up for the first time as people in the office swiveled their heads to look at her.

"I don't remember about swearing not to attack the teachers." Aries countered with a cunning smile. "I also swore that I will react with _lethal_ force if anyone bothered me."

Potters looked almost distraught. There was almost nothing similar between them other than the looks. Furthermore, Aries had brutally proven that he was truly nothing like a Gryffindor unlike them. He really did belong in Slytherin.

"Then swear one right now." Minerva snapped at him.

"No." Aries answered with a cold smile. "If the professors are actually doing their duty instead of belittling or mentally attacking students, then what is there to fear?" Aries asked rhetorically.

"Unless of course, you are also like that greasy slime ball and would like to attack me?" Aries taunted while McGonagall bristled with indignation.

Albus Dumbledore sighed as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. Aries Angelos was truly the most difficult student he had ever faced. "I think this is enough. Everyone please return to your quarters. Mr. Angelos you stay."

McGonagall looked ready to argue but when Dumbledore simply shook his head, she turned around with a huff and stormed out of the office. Pomona and Flilius merely left without a word.

"Aries." Lily whispered. The emerald eyed boy looked coldly back at her. It was almost surreal for her to see eyes identical, yet different from hers look back at her not with love but with coldness and disdain.

"Is-Is there anything you regret about it? Anything at all?" She asked haltingly as James looked searching at his estranged son's face. Behind them, Sirius Black, godfather of Aries, gazed at the boy with sadness.

Aries merely chuckled coldly. Lily and James' faces fell at the sound while Dumbledore looked on with hard eyes. "There is no such thing as regret in my dictionary." He said icily. "But there is one thing I do feel however."

Aries gave them a shark-like smile. The smile of viciousness. "I feel very proud of what I've done." Said the Denarian as the Potters staggered back as if physically struck while Dumbledore looked intensely at him, which he ignored for now.

"I destroyed my enemy. End of the story." He said with dismissive tone.

Trembling with emotions, Potters quietly walked out of the office with Sirius and before the door closed, Aries heard a sob of despair.

Alone in the office, the Denarian and the ancient headmaster stared at one another, each gauzing other's reaction. Dumbledore's face was cold, as if carved out from the stone. There was no trace of the kind old man many knew, but the face of warrior who had weathered nearly a century of storms. Aries inwardly grimaced as he stared unflinchingly at the cold blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore.

The man before him was to be feared and respected. However, he refused to yield. He had done nothing wrong. He clearly did warn Dumbledore of the consequences following such actions.

"Is that truly how you feel?" Dumbledore asked as power laced his words.

"My mind is my own sanctuary." Aries answered resolutely as he glared right back at Dumbledore. "I don't take kindly to intruders... And so does Meciel."

Dumbledore stared long and hard at the unrepentant teenager before him. After few moments of tense silence, the oppressive feeling faded away, leaving a tired old man.

"I warned you Dumbledore. I warned you of what would happen." Aries said calmly without accusation or the usual mocking tone he had.

"It is a dangerous path you walk on." Dumbledore cautioned. "I can't help but to remember someone I know who is lot like you."

"Oh?" Aries asked mildly.

"He eventually fell to the dark and became horrifying monster and wrecked a terrible toll on the world." Dumbledore recounted as he looked straight at him. To be honest, it was somewhat unnerving for the Denarian. It was as if the old man was looking at him but also out of this world.

"There is nothing free in the world except the choices we make. And I chose to become a Denarian. I chose Meciel. I chose to love her despite damning my soul and becoming a demon." Aries said slowly, each words ringing with finality.

_'And know that I love you as well my beloved Aries.'_ Meciel's musical words washed over him as warmth enveloped him. _'I promised to stay with you forever until the very end.'_

His lips curved in a soft smile despite the fact that he was sitting in front of Dumbledore. He found the old man watching him intently. "You wish for me to walk the path of light." Said Aries with bit of accusing tone in his voice.

Dumbledore simply nodded. "What you wish for goes against my very nature Dumbledore." Aries said blandly as he evenly gazed at him. "Devils don't follow the light."

"And yet you love the Fallen Angel inside your head." Dumbledore pointed out.

"We are special. We are different." Aries said with a shrug.

"Do you believe in fate or destiny?" The Denarian asked after a moment of silence.

"Perhaps. I believe that we are, in some ways, all interconnected. I believe that invisible wheels of fate are always moving, sometimes guided by the choices we make, other times moving by themselves." Dumbledore answered as he peered off into the distance. "How about yourself? Do you believe in fate or destiny?" Dumbledore asked the Denarian.

"No. I don't believe in such things. I believe that I am the master of my own destiny. I am the author of my own life. And if there are such thing as fate or destiny, I'll challenge them to my dying breath." Aries answered firmly.

With his answer, Aries Angelos stood up and strode to the door. Before he slipped out of the room, he stopped but didn't turn to look at the old man. "No one controls me Dumbledore. Not you. Not the world. Not God. There is only me and me alone." Aries calmly stated.

Without another word, the Denarian Renegade slipped out of the office, leaving the old man to his thoughts.

* * *

**And there you have it! **

**Oh and Happy New Year! I hope you guys have a wonder new year! :]**


	16. Bullying the Bullies

**Bullying the Bullies**

Whispers followed him wherever he went. Eyes riveted to his form as the students hushed whenever he saw him. Quite many people would have felt unnerved and anxious at being put on such scrutiny but for Aries Estel Angelos, the Denarian Renegade and dark wizard extraordinaire, it hardly mattered. A tiny smirk of satisfaction made its way to his lips as he lazily strutted his way down the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Group of chattering students coming his way immediately shut their mouths and hurriedly flattened themselves against wall in an effort to move out of his way.

Up ahead, a group of Gryffindor 6th years warily gazed at him with dark looks. One of them muttered "Dark scum."

With his enhanced hearing, the Denarian, however, heard it clearly. Slowing his pace, Aries slightly turned his head and stared pointedly at the lanky looking boy until he locked his cold emerald eyes with the boy's wide, terrified one. He didn't break his pace as he slowly walked forward while staring at the offender. The Gryffindoer 6th year quickly averted his eyes and tried to avoid the confrontation but had no such luck.

"Did you say something?" Aries drawled when he came closer to the Gryffindor. The students around them instantly hushed as they stared intently at the scene.

The frightened pair of eyes immediately jumped back up, only to meet the piercing, emerald gaze that seemed to leer into one's very soul. The Gryffindor in question almost seemed to suffer from nervous breakdown Aries came to stop within an arm's length in front of him while his fellow lions looked torn between fleeing and staying to support their friend.

"N-No. No-nothing" The Gryffindor stuttered as he fidgeted uncomfortably to hide the tremors going through his body.

The Denarian smirked smugly. "Yeah. I thought so." He commented with arrogant sneer.

With his little vengeance delivered, Aries turned and walked away in calm, sedate pace while the students watching the scene breathed a sigh of relief while the Gryffindor who antagonized him almost collapsed now that the threat had passed.

_'You are turning out to be a fine bully.'_ Meciel said with amusement.

_'Hey he started it.'_ Aries replied petulantly as he rolled his eyes. _'Besides, kids these days need to learn to not pick on someone who'll pick them right back.'_

_'For house of the brave, they sure lack courage.'_ Meciel chuckled as she thought back at the trembling Gryffindors.

_'Lions my ass.' _Denarian thought derisively as he let out a contemptuous snort. _'They're bunch of pussycats.'_

He hadn't forgotten about how Gryffindors had acted since the first day he was sorted into Slytherin. They kept sending dark glares toward him whenever they saw him and muttered some curses when they thought he wasn't listening. Aries almost expected one of them to eventually challenge him but the way things were going, it was more likely for them to approach him in large numbers.

It was just pathetic. They were far too scared to confront him individually and thus resorted to muttering insults.

If people thought that he would take their insults without a word than they were seriously mistaken. While he didn't give a crap about what they thought of him, he _always_ got even when they acted against him. Besides, bullying the bullies was extremely satisfying.

.oOo.

"Have you seen his attitude? He's a bully! He attacks a professor and now he's going around with that cocky attitude!" A shrill voice exclaimed as Amanda Carpenter let out a small sigh and rubbed her ears.

Ever since Aries had attacked Snape, Hermione Granger had less and less reason to like the mysterious older brother of Benjamin Potter. Not only did Aries get off scot free, he didn't even look remotely ashamed of his behavior. If anything, he became even more infuriating as he began to threaten the students. The bushy haired bookworm had barely contained herself from going after him to give him piece of her mind after she witnessed the brief encounter Aries Angelos had with the 6th year Gryffindor.

It's been 2 days already since the "Potion's incident," and she didn't show any sign of stopping her rant. Amanda couldn't help but to frown at the shrill voice of the bushy haired girl as it left a ringing aftereffect on her ears. The girl simply worshipped the authority figures and strictly followed the rules and often harped on the Golden Trio whenever they tried to step out of the line.

Currently she was sitting on one of the sofa of the Gryffindor common room as Hermione ranted and raved about Aries Angelos and his less than desirable behavior. Benjamin Potter and Neville Longbottom merely shared a look before rolling their eyes in exasperation as they were quite familiar with Hermione's rant whenever someone didn't abide by the rules. Ronald Weasley didn't even bother to pay attention as he leered lecherously at Lavender Brown's chest across the room.

"Hermione. Don't even bother." Amanda told the bushy haired girl tiredly as she looked over her Transfiguration essay. "Aries never cared about the rules and he'll break it just to annoy people."

"Bu-But that's just wrong!" She sputtered indignantly as her bushy hair became even more frizzled due to her stress. "Rules are in place for a reason and he's should respect the professors!"

Benjamin groaned tiredly as he rubbed his ears due to the shrill voice of the bookworm. "Just give it up Hermione. He broke the rules and punched Snape, so what?" He asked with a scowl.

"BENJAMIN SIRIUS POTTER! Don't you dare take that attitude with me!" Hermione screeched in anger while the whole room winced at the volume of her voice.

"Bloody hell!"

"Shut up!"

"Quiet down!"

Angry hub of voices yelled back at the bushy haired girl, who ducked her head down in embarrassment and muttered quick apologies to the angry looking students who glared at their group.

"Do you always have to raise your voice so high?" Ron asked with disgruntled manner as he rubbed his ear.

"Sorry but it's just so frustrating." Hermione mumbled apologetically. "I mean I saw your brother bullying some 6th years."

"What do you mean bullying?" Benjamin asked as his face instantly became serious. He still haven't confronted his brother and didn't know a thing about him.

"I saw him bullying some 6th year Gryffindors." Hermione said in a hushed whisper as Neville and Ron leaned forward to hear more about the story. "The poor guys looked almost ready to faint."

"Are you telling me that Angelos kid is bullying the 6th years?" Neville asked incredulously as he shared a glance with Ben. It was almost laughable that a 5th year can bully 6th year.

"I saw him in the hallways today." Said Hermione as her lips thinned with displeasure. "The Gryffindor boy mumbled something too quiet for anyone to hear but Angelos apparently heard it and almost gave the guy a heart attack."

"Why that slimy-" Ron immediately began to rant loudly despite the fact that the bushy haired bookworm had screeched loudly earlier.

Thinking quickly, Amanda flicked her wand and silenced the volatile red head as he continued to rant angrily judging by the color of his face. Eventually realizing that he had been silenced, Ron glared petulantly at the pretty blonde. Amanda sighed warily as she closed her textbook before rubbing her eyes tiredly. Despite the short amount of time she spent with the bushy haired bookworm and the Golden Trio, she could already feel migraine coming to her head.

"I'm not that surprised." Amanda mumbled as Hermione, Benjamin, Neville and Ron turned their attention to her. After all, she was the most knowledgeable among them when it came to enigma that is Aries Angelos.

"You knew he was a bully?" Hermione hissed irritably.

"No Hermione, I just knew that he would react that way." Amanda said in a clipped tone. While she was a good girl, the bushy haired girl's intolerance for anything breaking rules was beginning to get annoying at times like this.

"What do you mean?" Benjamin asked slowly as he frowned.

"Let me guess, the Gryffindor in question muttered something derogative about him didn't he?" Amanda asked as she looked at the bookworm.

"I don't know but that still doesn't excuse the way he reacted." Hermione replied back indignantly at the thought of rule breaker. "Not to mention how he didn't get any punishment for attacking a professor."

"I've noticed how Gryffindors are muttering insults at him." Amanada said flatly. It displeased her to see any acts of bullying and the house rivalry between Gryffindors and Slytherins was just ridiculous. While Aries was rude and crass, she believed that he was still a good guy deep beneath. He did save her life as well as her family's. "Aries doesn't care about what people think. But one thing you need to know is that he reacts rather violently when pressured." She explained with a sigh at her fellow housemates.

Neville looked ready to argue but closed his mouth with a snap when Amanda shook her head with a frown. Benjamin, on the other hand, looked thoughtfully at a blank space with a pensive expression. He remembered how his brother admitted killing the Dursleys with sadistic glee and it still sent a cold shiver up his spine. Not to mention, he freely admitted that he was a dark wizard. The belief was further solidified when he was sorted into Slytherin.

However, he still was his older brother by blood and his parents seemed to desperately try to connect with him despite his dark and bloody past. Perhaps it was time to meet him and truly see if Aries Angelos was his brother.

"I think it's time I've met my brother." Benjamin said with a solemn face as his friends sent him startled glance. Aries Angelos' recent acts have convinced them that he was definitely dark and looked more like an enemy to them.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Amanda asked worriedly. Although she had only interacted with him only handful of times, Amanda knew that the Denarian was unpredictable and couldn't see how it would turn out in a good way.

Benjamin nodded resolutely. "It's been long time in coming. I need to see if he is truly a Potter like my parents or a dark scum like rest of the Slytherins."

.oOo.

Wandering aimlessly down the third floor, Aries came upon an old, and rusty door. He heaved a sigh as boredom threatened to overwhelm his mind. The tournament was about to start soon but not yet. The classes he had attended wasn't so impressive. Aside from Transfiguration and Potions, the other classes weren't' worth attending. History of Magic and Divination were complete and utter failure with teachers like Binns and Trelawney. Astronomy cut into his sleep time, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy were moot since Meciel knew all about them, Charms was too easy and he didn't think Flitwick would teach any combat related spells (although Patronus Charm was rather interesting). Care of Magical Creatures looked promising but Hagrid, the half-giant's atrocious accent, combined with his love for dangerous creatures, was a put-off. Who in their right mind would call ugly critters like Blasted-Ended Skrewts cute? There was definitely few screws loose in that man's head. Also, he was pretty sure cross-breeding dangerous creatures such as Manticores and Fire Crabs were illegal...

He still haven't had any DADA class yet but doubted he would learn anything useful since he was already skilled in Dark Arts. Transfiguration held so much promise but until he could learn to properly control the flow of his magic (Hellfire was too chaotic and destructive), he would end up exploding the objects. Minerva McGonagall's lips grew thinner and thinner with each explosion. As for Potions, seeing as he had literally smashed Snivellus' face onto the stone floor, he didn't want to go near that classroom ever again. The overgrown, greasy bat irritated him too much and he didn't think the next time, he would be able to resist the urge to kill him in rather slow and gruesome manner.

And thus here he was, wandering aimlessly in the castle while mentally memorizing the hallways. If the information he had gleaned from the minds of several students, Hogwarts had several secret passageways that might be useful for him.

_'Stop.'_ Meciel whispered in his mind as he blinked in surprise.

"Meciel?" Aries asked quietly as a wand immediately slipped into his hand. Years of battling the supernatural foes and surviving on streets had taught him to be alert and suspicious to the point of being called paranoid.

_'Someone is coming.'_ Meciel said as Aries narrowed his eyes while peering into the empty hall.

A moment later, he mentally sensed foreign intents. One of the perks of being a telepath was that he was able to sense the general mood or intent of people around them even if he couldn't see them. Although hearing people's thoughts in his mind was rather irritating, by withdrawing more into himself and raising his mental barriers, he could 'distance' himself from other people's thoughts until he could only feel their mood. At times like this, he could sense their intent even before he came into contact with them, giving him a crucial edge against would-be-assassins or assailants.

Briskly stepping away from the dead end where the rusty door was, Aries quickly traced back his steps until other corridors came into sight. Taking a sharp turn from the original corridor he was in, the Denarian flattened himself on the wall. He waited patiently as the foreign minds drew closer and closer. The feeling of nervousness, determination and a hint of hostile intent seemed to radiate from whomever was approaching his position.

Soon, he picked up a sound of scuffles of shoes against the stone floors. Thanks to his enhanced hearing, he was able to hear it but it was still muffled. Peeking around the corner, Aries narrowed his eyes as he peered into the empty hallway. They were close by and he could sense it.

_'They are invisible.'_ Meciel cautioned as nothing entered his field of vision after a moment.

"C'mon, I think he went this way." A quiet muffled voice spoke and Aries had to strain his ears.

"He should be around the corner." Another voice spoke in hushed tone.

Thinking quickly, he cast a silencing charm on his feet and immediately sprinted down the hall with his supernatural speed. Reaching the end of the hallway, he took several turns as he sought to lose his pursuers. If needed he could always find them later.

Flattening himself against the wall once again, with disillusionment charm this time, he waited for whomever was stalking him to show themselves.

_"Echosondra."_ He murmured as he fired off waves of high pitched sounds that human ears were incapable of hearing.

The sonar waves bounced off the walls and grainy images began to form themselves. Soon enough, he found the position of his stalkers. There were 5 of them and they seemed to be bunched together for some reason.

_'Invisibility cloak.'_ Meciel murmured. _'It would explain why they are bunched together so tightly.'_

Sure enough, he soon heard the scuffles of shoes once more.

"Bloody hell! How did he run that quickly?" A voice, a male judging by his tone, grumbled.

"Shush, he seemed to be resting near that corner." Another voice spoke quietly.

_'They seem to have some kind of tracking device.'_ Aries thought as he frowned. The way they found him so quickly despite the fact he outran them made it clear that they had a way of locating his general location. Out running them didn't work, so he had to set up an ambush. However, there wasn't any cover for him to hide since it was an empty hallway. He might be invisible but it wouldn't help him much. There isn't any hiding place, which meant he had to go up. Quickly casting a feather weight charm and levitation charm on him, Aries levitated him until he was near the ceiling. Flipping himself upside down, he caste a sticking charm on his shoes and planted himself on the ceiling upside down like a bat.

"Where is he? The map says he should be right here!" A voice hissed as in frustration.

With his enhanced senses, Aries heard quiet rustling of clothes below him. Furrowing his brows, Aries carefully aimed his holly wand near the source of noise and fired off series of low powered _Reducto_ curses. While he didn't want to kill them since he needed to know who they were, he didn't take kindly to stalkers. Besides, he wasn't the type to use weak and useless spells like _Stupefy_ or _Expelliarmus_.

There were series of shouts and squeaks of surprise as the _Reducto_ curses he aimed slammed into the ground and shattered the stones, sending debris everywhere. Aries smiled coldly when he heard a loud thud of body being slammed into the ground by one of his curses followed by whoosh of air being driven from the lungs and groans of pain.

_"Aguamenti."_ Aries murmured and from the end of his wand, torrent of water poured forth and bathed the ground below with water.

Amidst the water, Aries quickly picked out shimmering form of invisibility cloak. While the invisibility cloak might offer the wear invisibility, it didn't hide its shape or existence once it has been exposed to water or vapor. From edges the cloak, he could see tangle of limbs peek out, signifying his stalkers were down. Instead of dropping down, he fired off one more _Reducto_ curse for a good measure. Never hurt to be cautious.

There was a sound of crack as bones broke and a scream of pain came from whoever was hit by the curse. Cancelling the sticking charm on his shoes, Aries fell down into the ground head first as gravity took over. Before he crashed into the ground, the Denarian flipped over in a skilled display of finesse and flexibility and landed in a crouched position.

"_Accio_ invisibility cloak." Aries murmured with a flick of his wand.

To his surprise, the spell seemed to glide off the cloak. Slightly frowning at the result, Aries took a step forward before ripping off the cloak from the groaning mass of bodies. There, sprawled out before him were 5 Gryffindors, if there red and gold tie were anything to judge by as well as badges of lions on their uniforms. Upon closer look, Aries blinked in surprise as face of Benjamin Potter was among them.

He was groaning as he held his arm to his chest and weakly pushed off the brown-haired boy who was lying on top of him. Next to the brown haired boy was an unconscious red haired boy with lots of freckles on his face who had tall and gangly frame. The last two were girls. The one with bushy hair and large front teeth was rubbing her head as she hissed in pain occasionally and the other one was none other than Amanda Carpenter. Out of the group, she seemed to be least injure because she was at the very back of the group.

Aries narrowed his eyes in displeasure as his piercing emerald eyes glared at them. "You five got some balls to stalk me like that." He hissed coldly.

"H-Hi Aries." Amanda stuttered quietly as she ducked her head down guilty, unable to meet his soul-piercing glare.

"Why were you following me?" Aries asked bluntly as he gave the other four nasty glare.

"We- uhhh- wanted to meet you." Amanda replied uncertainly, acting much like a guilty child caught red handed trying to steal a cookie from the cookie jar.

"And so you resorted to stalking me under an invisibility cloak." He said with flat stare. "I know I'm good looking but I'm not sure if I should be flattered or disturbed by your newest hobby."

Amanda felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment at his smart-ass comment. If it wasn't for the situation, Amanda probably would've giggled at his sardonic wit. As much of a rude bastard he was, Aries was quite hilarious with his twisted sense of humor and sharp tongue.

"You know, if you _really_ wanted to get inside my pants, you could've just came to my dorm in your knickers instead of getting yourself wet." Aries drawled with lazy smirk as he leered lecherously at her wet form.

Blinking in confusion, Amanda glanced down and let out an mortified squeak as she immediately covered her chest with her arms. The water he had sprayed earlier had soaked through her uniform and clung to her lithe frame while outlining her bras. It didn't help that the shirt was white and allowed the color of her bra to be shown through. Her entire face was beet red with embarrassment as she stayed rooted to the spot mortified beyond belief.

Aries felt his lazy smirk become even more smug as the brat looked at him with mortified expression. As much as the girl annoyed him, he couldn't deny the fact that Amanda Carpenter was developing into a buxom young beauty. If her chest and figure was anything to go by, she would no doubt become as hot as her bitch of mom and sister in few years. Deciding to have fun and see how much teasing she could take, Aries leaned down while tilting her chin toward him.

"Naughty naughty, you've been a bad girl, haven't you...Amanda?" Aries purred as his voice took on slightly husky tone.

_'There is something mesmerizing about your eyes Aries. The way they swirl with power and darkness in almost endless depth turns me on. It's very mysterious that people, especially girls, can't resist trying to solve them.'_

Sephiria Raith had often told him during their time together that his emerald eyes were the most mesmerizing part of him. Most of times, they were cold and piercing as they look into one's very soul while stripping past all their defenses. However, in times like this, he was able to draw them in their depth.

Amanda's storm grey eyes widened as the Denarain leaned his face forward until he was about several inches away from her own. Involuntary gasp escaped her lips as blood rushed to her head. She could literally feel the heat coming off her cheeks in waves and no doubt Aries could feel them clearly. However, none of these properly registered with her mind as her mind had gone almost blissfully blank. Despite the fact that Aries Angelos was a Denarian, that he was a hellspawn, Amanda could not deny the fact that there was something that pulled her to him.

He was definitely handsome with his sharp features that often reminded her of an aristocrat and his absolute confidence in himself drew her to him. His sharp wit and sardonic humor made her laugh. His incredible power and depth of his knowledge impressed her beyond belief. That, combined with his rebellious attitude and sense of mystery he represented, just drew her to him like moth to the flame. He was the paragon of what her friends often described as Mr. Tall, Dark, Handsome.

"If you really wanted to seduce me that badly, you could've just asked me." He continued as his emerald eyes twinkled with amusement. "I've never thought that the daughter of one of the Knights of the Cross would have such a naughty side."

Amanda didn't know whether she wanted to swallowed up by the earth in embarrassment or allow him to continue teasing her. It was odd, to say the least, since she had never witnessed flirtatious side of Aries Angelos. But now that she had, it was almost addicting as it was invigorating.

Her breaths came in short gasps as her heart beat faster and faster. Her skin felt much hotter than usual and her chin, where Aries held her with his fingers, felt as if it's on fire. She felt almost dizzy but remained wide awake as she stared deep into the emerald pools that was his eyes. She just couldn't look away from them, not that she wanted to. It was almost surreal, staring into them this close. The way they stared right through her, into her very soul made her feel almost naked but it also seemed to draw her in. It was almost endless depth of pure emerald.

She had one or two boyfriends in the past but all of them were mostly innocent and clumsy attempt at flirting. Aries wasn't even her boyfriend but he was able to play her almost like an instrument with barely a touch. She knew that it would probably be a good idea to stay away from him just like her daddy told her to do. He was exactly the kind of a guy that her father didn't want her to to hang around. While he isn't a drug-addict, alcoholic, or a smoker, he _is _a demon after all. More specifically, an enemy to mankind and to her dad, professionally speaking. But no matter how hard she tried, her mind seemed to return to him more and more ever since he rescued her. She didn't have as much interaction with him in the past so it was easy for her to put him out of her mind, but now, it was almost impossible. He was unintentionally portrayed as a "knight-in-shining-armor" and she couldn't deny that he was definitely charismatic.

As his scent drifted into her nose, it reminded her of the last time when she smelled him. That time when they had just apparated to England from America and ended up tangled together. There was a distinct smell of ozone after lightning bolt and how atmosphere smelled after a thunderstorm that was at best described as 'crackly.' It was masculine and pleasantly calming that she instinctively liked it.

"I-I-uhhhhh..." Amanda stuttered dumbly in her flustered state and it seemed to amuse the Denarian in front of her judging by the way his lips twitched upward in an effort to stifle his laughter.

"Sh-Shut up. Just... just get me up." Amanda finally mumbled as she tried to stand up unsteadily. Her legs felt wobbly and she was both glad and disappointed when Aries stepped back and let go of her chin.

However, thanks to the water on the floor, Amanda let out an startled yelp when she tried to rise with her jello-like legs. She instinctively closed her eyes and braced for impact but felt a hand grab her arm and pull her forward with surprising ease. Next moment, she felt herself pressed onto something warm and blinked her eyes in surprise. Looking up curiously, she saw a clearly amused Aries looking down at her as his eyes shone with mirth and felt his shoulders shake in silent laughter.

"Eeep!" Amanda squeaked in surprise and tried to pull back and almost fell down again but felt one of his arms snake its way around her waist and pull her toward him just before she could lose her balance once more.

"My my, you're a clumsy girl aren't you?" Aries chuckled with muffled laughter.

Amanda felt her cheeks grow red again at his teasing and at the position they were in. They were in what was called the dancer's embrace with their legs intertwined and one of his arm was snaked around her curvy waist. And beneath the clothes, Amanda could clearly feel his muscle tone and felt her mouth go dry.

"Shut up. This is all your fault." Amanda grumbled weakly as she quickly averted her eyes from his face. In truth, she didn't wanted him to know just how affected she was by him.

"The last time I checked, I wasn't the one who decided to stalk an opposite sex with 4 other people underneath an invisibility cloak." Aries replied dryly and Amanda flushed brighter.

Dear God, why-oh just why did he have to be such a man-hunk. He made it just so much more difficult to resist him.

"Uhh-Ummm... Can you let go of me now?" Amanda asked quietly as she tried to mask her shyness.

Instead of doing as she requested, Aries pulled her closer to him and felt a strangled gasp leave her lips when her breasts mashed against his muscled chest. She instinctively bit her lower lips to stifle a moan when he locked her in his arms, it would make it just even more embarrassing than it already was. Fighting past the haze of pleasure that was beginning to cloud her mind (even from just a touch! They weren't even doing _it_ right now!) Amanda knew that she just had to put as much physical distance between them before she lost her mind (and control). She quickly took an unsteady step back but Aries quirked his delicate eyebrow before giving her an amused and predatory smirk that caused butterflies in her stomach.

One step after other, Amanda quickly retreated until a solid thud to her back announced that she was backed up against the wall. Wrenching her eyes off from the wall, her already-shallow-breath caught in her throat when they landed back on the hauntingly beautiful, emerald eyes of Aries Angelos. He was standing in front of her with predatory look that made her feel insane with mixture of emotions erupting from her. This was so much more intense that anything she had felt with her past boyfriends, ex-boyfriends to be precise, and he made her feel such things that fourteen year old girl probably was bit too young to experience.

Amanda gulped heavily when he stepped into her personal space until his entire body was pressed against hers. His arms on the wall either side of her, trapping her in between.. His emerald eyes shone brightly as if with their own inner glow and with leering smirk, he leaned down his face and she felt her entire body go stiff.

"If you haven't realized it by now, then you should remember that there is _always_ a consequence when dealing with a demon." Aries purred huskily next to her ear.

Amanda felt his hot breath tickle her ear and felt a pleasant shiver run down her spine as she fought to stay in control of herself.

"I-I di-didn't mean t-to" Amanda stammered as she desperately fought against the feelings he was causing to her mind and body. Her water-soaked body no longer felt cold, in fact, she felt as if her entire body was on fire with amount of sexual tension the Denarian was creating. Butterflies in her stomach, wobbly knees, hearts beating like war drums. All these reactions combined together to form tingling sense of pleasure. Oh she knew that he was a demon but she never knew that he was so proficient in art of seduction.

Aries inwardly smiled smugly at the sight and feel of the girl in front of him. It was times like this that he _truly_ appreciated just how grateful he was to Sephiria Raith and Lara Raith for coaching him in art of sex and flirting. The lustful vampires of the White Court were more than delighted in teaching him the pleasure of flesh and he had been _very_ eager learn the subject from them in turn. While he admitted that Amanda was far stronger than most mortal girls of her age as well as _not_ a slut (her father was a Knight of the Cross after all), she stood no chance against his seductive approach. With her hormones going out of control with puberty, it just made it so much easier.

Damn he was good.

With one last snort of amusement, the Denarian released his arms and stepped back from the blonde girl while she slid down the wall when her legs could no longer support her. Flicking out his wand, he pointed it at Tweedledee, Tweedledum, and Tweedlestupid and murmured _"Ennervate."_

With pained groans, the Golden Trio woke up sluggishly while the bushy haired girl seemed to have dragged herself away from puddle of water and onto the wall and watching him and Amanda with flushed face that rivaled Weasley's red hair. To a fourteen year old bookworm, that was probably the hottest thing she ever witnessed in her life. She read one of those cheesy romance novels in muggle world but to actually see such scene in real life was something much more than just reading it. Amanda blushed once more when she realized Hermione ended up watching the entire scene from the beginning. Twirling his wand deftly between his fingers, Aries dispassionately watched Benjamin Potter, Neville Longbottom, and Ronald Weasley groan and moan as they tried to cradled whatever part of themselves that were broken.

While surveying the idiots before him, something caught his gaze. It was an old parchment that fell from their hand when he sprayed them with _Reducto_ curses and water. Stepping away from the Gryffindors, he bent down the pick it up and blinked when he spotted the inks moving. It seemed it didn't need any drying charm despite being on the puddle of water and Aries curiously took a closer look. Across the parchment, he could see that the inks were drawn out in a way that it resembled a map. Here and there, footsteps moved about with a name on top of them.

_'They were talking about some kind of a map when they were following me.'_ Aries remembered silently.

In his head Aries felt Meciel examine the map in front of him curiously_. 'Amazing. This parchment shows the entire layout of the castle.' _Meciel said with hint of surprise. Indeed, as he scanned the map, it showed his name and 4 Gryffindors on the 3rd floor and he could see the name Albus Dumbledore pacing in his office.

_'How did they make this? This is incredibly complex.'_ The Denarian mused as he stared fascinated at the map.

_'Indeed. I can feel the layers of charms and magic woven into this parchment.'_ Meciel whispered. _'Impressive, the map is tied to the wards. They use the wards of the castle to keep track of everyone in Hogwarts.'_ She commented after several moments.

_'Huh, I can even see some tunnels leading out of the castle.'_ Aries thought excitedly. _'There is the one that I used.' _

_'Do you think you can replicate this?'_ Aries immediately asked Meciel. Having a map like this of his own would no doubt be incredibly useful to him. He can keep track of everyone in the castle and it opened up so many possibilities...

_'Probably.'_ Meciel answered as she studied the map intently_. 'But you might need to hold onto it for few days for me to completely understand it.'_

"Give it back!" A voice yelled out and snapped the Denarian back to the present.

Turning away from the map, Aries stared down at the angry form of Benjamin Potter as he clutched his right arm to his chest. Behind him, Longbottom and Weasley stood by as they also glared darkly at him. Deciding to take a peek into Potter's mind, Aries slipped into his younger brother's mind easily as he didn't even have Occulemency barriers. Telepathy was far too subtle for even Occulemens to notice and he wouldn't even recognize his mind was being laid out before the hellspawn.

After rummaging around for a bit, Aries found the information he needed. The Marauders' Map. A map that shows the layout of Hogwarts and everyone in it. It was created by group of pranksters called the Marauders, who surprisingly turned out to be James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Benjamin had been using the map for years now to play pranks as well as spy on other people as did his father before him.

"So this is how you've been tailing me." Aries commented idly as he spun his wand in circles with his fingers.

"He told you to hand it over Slytherin scum!" The gangly ginger bellowed angrily at Aries when he almost seemed to casually dismiss them.

"And why should I do that?" Aries drawled out lazily. The red head seemed to grow even redder and he could practically feel the anger radiating off him in waves.

_'So predictable. The idiot wears his heart on his sleeves.'_ Aries mused amusedly at the fuming Weasley. _'He seriously has anger management issues.'_

_'Takes one to know one I suppose?'_ Meciel laughed lightly in his head.

_'Oh please, since when have I acted like this moron?'_ Aries retorted.

_'Oh I don't know, Red Court Vampire's outpost? Quidditich World Cup? Balthrail's base in Malaysia? You seem to leave behind a trail of destruction and chaos wherever you go.' _Meciel said dryly as Aries rolled his eyes at the jab.

_'Touché. Just because I like to blow things up doesn't mean I'm incapable of controlling my anger.'_ Aries snorted slightly. _'Besides, even when I was only 7 years old, I was never as bad as this one.'_

_'Too true.'_ Meciel chuckled.

Neville and Ron immediately pulled out their wands and pointed at the black haired wizard, who already had his pointing at them even before they touched their wands. "What are you going to do? In case you've already forgotten, I already gave you a major ass-whopping only few minutes ago." Aries taunted the Golden Trio who practically had steam coming out of their ears.

"You are not suppose to pull out wands in the hallway!" A shrill voice interrupted them. From his peripheral vision, Aries could see the bushy haired girl stomp angrily to their direction until she stood few feets away from them. "It's against the rules to fight in the hallway!" The bushy haired banshee screeched and Aries scowled at the volume.

"Will you shut up?" Aries snapped with irritated glare. "You're screeching like a banshee."

"Ho-How dare you!" The girl spat with indignation and the volume of her voice went up even further. "Rules are in place and you shouldn't break them!"

"Screw the rules!" Aries snarled at the her angrily. By the balls of Jesus Christ, this girl's screeching is going to damage his ear drums. "I'm Aries fucking Angelos! I don't care what you think Beaver girl!"

She seemed to sputter in anger at his angry retort and was about to screech yet again when Amanda interrupted her. "That's enough Hermione. You don't have to shout all the time." The blonde haired girl sighed as she shook her head. Her gaze caught the Denarian's and she quickly looked away with a blush. Aries' earlier flirting still fresh in her mind.

"Bu-But look at him!" The girl, Hermione, gestured wildly at his direction. "He's breaking the rules!"

"Whatever saber-tooth." Aries retorted with an eye roll. "Not everyone is concerned about the rules like you."

"Can we get back to the map?" Benjamin interjected angrily before their bushy haired friend would go on another rant.

"Aries, you shouldn't take other people's possession." Amanda said with a frown.

"Hand it over you slimy snake!" Neville shouted as he tightened his grip on his wand.

"Or what?" Aries replied in a bored manner. "I did beat all of you without breaking a sweat." He said with a tiny smirk of smugness as he decided to rub in their faces.

"_Accio_ map!" Hermione yelled as she pointed at the map.

Already knowing the girl was about to act, Aries had tightened his grip on the map. The map seemed to crumple but remained in his hand. Turning his head slightly but not letting the Gryffindors out of his sight, Aries looked directly at the Beaver with a sneer. "Did you really think I didn't expect that?"

"Give it back!" Benjamin snarled. "I'm warning you!"

"Did you really think there wouldn't be a consequence when you decided to stalk me?" Aries sneered at their angry faces. "No, I think I'll hold on to this for a while."

"That's stealing!" Hermione snapped angrily. He could see that she was gritting her teeth and was trembling with suppressed fury.

_'Damn, this girl is seriously anally retentive when it comes to rules.'_ Aries thought disdainfully.

Amanda bit her lips nervously as she watched the confrontation between the Denarians and her fellow Gryffindors grow steadily worse with each passing moments. She just _knew_ that she should've persuaded them to not stalk him but Benjamin was quite firm in his belief that he needed to meet with his blood brother. If the Denarian decided to hurt them, she doubted anything they threw at him would work.

"Aries, they just wanted to meet you so Benjamin could talk to you." Amanda attempted to placate him as well as prevent the growing confrontation.

"So you resorted to stalking me?" Aries snorted.

"They just wanted to speak to you alone." Amanda said with a huff as she refused to look away from the Denarian's glare.

Aries scowled at them. "Well then, talk." He said with irritated tone. "What do you want?"

When the boys looked ready to put their feet in their mouth, Amanda glared at them, which they backed down from reluctantly. "I want to know if you truly meant what you said back in headmaster's office." Benajmin asked his older brother stiffly as he still glared at the hand holding the map.

"Of course I meant what I said." Aries snapped at him. "I don't say things I don't mean."

Benjamin clenched his jaws as he glared at the equally glaring Aries Angelos. Now that he was much closer to him, he could see that they truly did look alike, somewhat. Whereas his hair was brown with red highlights, Aries had raven black hair. He had hazel eyes with glasses but Aries had emerald green eyes that seemed to glow eerily. Furthermore, his older brother's features were more sharper than his and had a distinct aristocratic look.

"Do you regret anything?" Benjamin asked with grimace.

Aries didn't snap back immediately as he expected. Instead, he seemed to coolly judging him. "No. I regret nothing." He answered curtly.

"Then there is nothing that binds us." Benjamin spat out and fired off stunning spell at him.

Faster than he thought was possible, Benjamin watched with wide eyes as Aries bent backward and gracefully flip himself over. From behind him, two other spells rushed past his shoulders as Neville and Ron fired their own curses at him and he could hear Hermione screeching them about no fighting.

Aries easily avoided the two jinxes and fired off his own curses in retaliation. They truly had no sense of aim whatsoever. A silently cast _Reducto_ immediately crashed into the brown haired boy, Neville, and he was sent back flying with a pained cry. The other _Reducto_ spell was about to slam into Benjamin when it crashed into a glowing silver dome. Quick look to the girl told him that saber tooth, Hermione, conjured it.

Benjamin recovered from the shock of close call and sent a grateful look to Hermione and turned back with a snarl.

_"Expelliarmus!"_ He snapped.

Aries merely twisted his upper body and the spell sailed past his chest. "Are you even serious?" Aries taunted them with bored voice. "Kiddie spells like that doesn't work on me."

_"Stupefy!"_ Ron yelled angrily as he wildly aimed at emerald eyed boy.

Aries merely tilted his head and it flew past him and crouched low to avoided _Incarcerus_ spell from Hermione and jumped sideways when Benjamin cast _Petrificus Totalus_. With a swipe of his wand, Aries turned the puddle of water they were standing on into slippery ice. Another flick of his wand ensured the friction of the ice was dramatically decreased, leading the Potter and Weasley to lose their footings.

"Aries stop!" Amanda yelled out to him as she raised her wand. In span of mere few seconds, Aries had disabled the three boys. Neville was few yards away from them as he groaned while clutching his stomach where the _Reducto_ curse had hit him while Benjamin and Ron was fumbling around on the ice as they desperately tried to regain their footing. However on a frictionless ice, it proved to be a daunting task. He could've finished them off easily and they both knew it.

"You don't have to do this." Amanda pleaded with him. Looking into his cold emerald eyes, Amanda couldn't see any pity or compassion. However, she did find cold indifference and growing anger.

_"Confringo!"_ Ron yelled out as he pointed his wand at Aries. However, due to his position on the ice, he slipped and the spell went flying toward Amanda.

The blonde haired girl's eyes went wide as she turned to cast a shielding charm. Unfortunately, Ron was closer to Amanda than Aries was and they knew that she wouldn't make it in time. Just as the spell was about to hit her, Amanda felt something yank out of the way and watched as the spell fly wildly past her head and slam into the wall, where the stones exploded. She landed with a grunt and raised her head to see cold anger on the Denarian's face. She knew he was the one who saved her yet again.

_"Bombarda!"_ Aries hissed coldly.

_"Protego!"_ Benjamin gasped desperately.

The exploding spell streaked toward the ginger but a gleaming dome of shield appeared just barely in time as the red head was hit by it. The shield trembled under the assault and shimmered for a second before shattering violently. Benjamin yelled out in pain from the magical backlash and the remaining power of the blasting curse threw the two boys away.

_"Avis!"_ Hermione yelled while pointing her wand at the Slytherin but Aries was already moving even before the flock of birds was conjured. _"Oppungo!"_ The bushy haired girl incanted and the flock of birds dived at the Denarian with their sharp claws and beaks.

_"Incendio!"_ Aries sneered as he swiped his wand in wide circular motion, spewing out a torrent of flame which quickly became a wall of fire that stood protectively in front of him.

There were loud screeches and chirps of pain as the birds were roasted into a barbeque. Not even pausing to glance at the dying birds, Aries flicked his wand at the rubble that was formed when the ginger's spell collided against the wall and sent them flying toward the bushy haired girl.

_"Protego!"_ Hermione cried out.

The shield spell formed just as the rocks struck and shimmered as the debris slammed into it. Hermione gritted her teeth as she tried to maintain her spell. The mass of the rocks, combined with their kinetic energy from the speed, was stronger than she imagined. Not even sparing her a moment of respite, Aries sent another blasting curse at the girl and it shattered the shield charm and sent her flying as well.

Amanda gasped as she surveyed the impromptu battlefield. There were chunks of rocks lying around and several yards away, she could see the Benjamin, Neville, Ron and Hermione groaning painfully. A derisive snort caught her ears and she turned to see Aries sneer at them while surveying the damage.

"Pathetic." Aries grunted.

With his the nuisance taken care of, he turned on his heels and walked away just as Amanda unsteadily got to her feet. "Aries!" She called out after him.

"I suggest you find another group of friends." Aries snapped at her as he turned back. "Ones whose combined IQ level is at least above that of the mentally retarded."

"What about the map?" Amanda asked undeterred.

The Denarian sighed with annoyance. "I'm going to copy it. I'll give it back when I'm done." He answered while rolling his eyes.

When Amanda opened her mouth to retort, she found herself tossed onto the wall as breath left her lungs with a whoosh. She absently noted that it didn't hurt as much as she expected but the thought was quickly driven from her mind when Aries Angelos was once again standing in front of her with glowing emerald eyes like he did earlier. Startled, she raised her arms instinctively but Aries was quicker, much quicker, as he grabbed both her wrists and trapped them above her head in one smooth motion.

"Aries! What are-" Amanda's indignant cry quickly died on her lips when her storm grey eyes once again locked onto the piercing emerald eyes of the Denarian.

"You know, I still haven't given you a proper punishment for accompanying those idiots." Aries said quietly only few centimeters away from her lips.

Amanda felt her heart flutter at his words and the familiar feeling of butterflies erupted in her stomach, giving her tingling sense of pleasure. She bit her lower lips and desperately tried to look away from him but it was hard to do so even without her arms trapping her head in between. She panted heavily and her muscles grew taut with tension and found it increasingly difficult to not just close the gap and kiss the handsome demon-turned-boy in front of her.

"So what do you think? How do you think I should punish you?" Aries purred next to her ear once more.

Amanda let out a gasp when she felt him lightly nibble on her ear only to quickly let go a moment later. However, she couldn't contain her moan when she felt Aries kiss the area beneath her ear nor when he trailed kisses down her neck, lightly nibbling on her skin occasionally. All rational thoughts that she had been desperately grabbing on left from her consciousness and white hot passion burned through her mind. Her legs, no longer able to support her weight with their jello-like state, finally collapsed but Aries swiftly moved his hands and grabbed her thighs before she did, easily supporting her weight with his supernatural strength. Amanda couldn't believe what she was doing right now as Aries trialed kisses down the side of her neck. She, the daughter of one of the Knights of the Cross, and a Christian, was moaning like a cheap whore on a school hallway with a Denarian of all things!

But none of these registered to her mind at the moment. The only thing she wanted was to feel more of the addictive feeling brought on by Aries Angelos. She let out a strangled cry when she felt Aries kissed and nibbled on the hollow juncture between her neck and shoulder. The smell of ozone and rain filled her nostrils as she ran her fingers through his messy, raven black hair, making it even messier. In response, Aries moved one of his hand from her thigh and gave a firm squeeze on her bum as he fondled it. As her body grew hotter and hotter, she grew more desperate as the heat began to pool between her legs.

"A-Aries." Amanda stammered weakly as he continued to kiss and suck on the particular spot on her neck.

She bucked her hip at a particularly harder suck and let out a gasp of pleasure when her crotch rubbed against his own. Through the clothes, she felt his own arousal.

And then it was when she felt it. With her mind gone completely blank and intense emotions whirling through her consciousness, her magic thrummed as it emerged from its normally dormant state and bathed the two in its embrace. In response, the Denarian's own magic flared into life and the two magic began to intertwine. Amanda quickly covered her mouth when a particularly loud moan escaped her mouth but was finding the task rather difficult.

Aries Angelos' magic was truly different.

She had felt other people's magic few times in her life during her stay at the Salem. They were brought on by truly intense emotions and usually felt nice to be around them. It was like having a sixth sense and some people said that it was the glimpse of feeling one's soul. Each were unique in their own way.

However, nothing had prepared her for what Aries Angelos' magic was like.

It was powerful.

It was potent.

Most of all, it was utterly _intoxicating_.

There was something about it that truly set it apart from all the other magic she had felt and experienced. It was dark and saturated with so much power that it was impossible to be mortal. It was cold and hot at once much like how he was. Like a cool shadow, it draped around her and like a burning firestorm, it ignited the burning sense of pleasure. And it was only a taste of what Hellfire was like.

She had once asked Aries how Hellfire was like and he had described it to be utterly intoxicating and divine that it was like having an orgasm. At the time, she had wrinkled her nose in disgust and moved away from him, but now, she realized that its was true. It was only a taste of what it was like and here she was, her mind frizzled as it was unable to cope with the intoxicating rush of pleasure and power it gave out.

The combination of Aries' kiss on her neck, sexual tension, and his utterly intoxicating magic, finally drove her over the edge. With a gasp, Amanda felt her entire body go stiff and arched her back as her mouth opened in a silent cry of pleasure. Her hips bucked wildly and grind against Aries' own while her magic pulsed and throbbed wildly. She saw the stars explode behind her eyes and pleasure unlike anything she ever felt erupt from her groin and spread through the rest of her body in a toe-curling experience. She couldn't do anything but do jerk sporadically in Aries' arms as she rode out the waves and waves of pleasure.

After what seemed like an eternity to the blonde, Amanda took huge gulps of air as she panted heavily while sagging in his arms. With hazy eyes, Amanda blearily looked down and felt Aries panting just as harshly on her skin. Slowly, he raised his head from the crook of her neck and her glazed eyes met the burning emerald orbs that were the eyes of the Denarian. If feeling of his crotch was anything to go by, she knew that he had not climaxed like she did. Slowly, with almost gentleness that she didn't know he possessed, Aries lowered her to the floor.

"Fuck, I'm gonna have to find a relief soon." Aries grumbled as he gulped deep breath of air to calm himself down.

Leaning back his head, he silently observed the flushed face of Amanda Carpenter until her glazed eyes returned normal. "You know, I've never thought that the daughter of the Knight could be this naughty." He teased with a smirk while giving one more squeeze to her bum.

Embarrassed wasn't the sufficient word to describe how Amanda felt at that moment. Deciding to add more fuel to the fire, Aries leaned forward until his lips were right next to her ears. "You taste like mango and peach." He whispered and he felt the heat of her cheeks flare exponentially. "Delicious."

With one last nibble on her ear, he rose and stalked away. Leaving the unconscious Gryffindors behind as Amanda watched him go with mixture myriad emotions, beet red face, and a hickey to hint what had happened.

.oOo.

Daphne watched with detached aloofness as yet another foolish, hormonal male student almost tripped over his own feet as he dazedly stared at the silvery, blonde Veela who maintained cold, stoic face. While she felt pity for her newest friend, the icy Slytherin couldn't help but to feel small bit of peace as she was no longer stared at like a piece of meat. Oh people still stared at her, but not as much when she was with Fleur Delacour. Daphne knew that they made a striking pair as they walked away from the castle onto the shore of the Black Lake.

Both had tall, slender figure with well-endowed breasts and bums which boys spent many hours hungrily gazing at. Just earlier today, she and Fleur sent several painful hexes to buffoons who stared far too long. Fed up with lustful stares from the male population, Daphne quickly suggested going outside of the castle which the quarter-Veela agreed almost immediately.

A cool wind blew by but with quick heating charm, the problem was taken care of. Fleur felt herself grow slightly more relaxed as they came upon the shore of the lake. The surface of the lake seemed to glitter like jewels as sunlight bounced off it and the Beauxbaton's champion lost the stiffness she had whenever she was in the company of other people. Whenever she was troubled in Beauxbaton, Fleur always liked to go up to the highest tower of school and watch the scenery to calm her mind. She wasn't all that fervent about nature scenery but it did help soothe her frustration or anger.

It's been nearly a week since she had arrived at Hogwarts. A week since she met a certain emerald-eyed individual who saved her all those years ago. He had grown from the young boy into a growing young man. When he showed up at the Great Hall in such spectacular fashion, Fleur almost reeled with disbelief. Never in millions of years had she expected that she would be reunited with her savior in such manner but still, she was glad to have met him.

However, when he shattered the Goblet with his strange but gleaming sword, she felt nothing but pain as if her magic was suddenly ripped away from her. While other champions eventually recovered, she took the longest recover. After all, she was a quarter Veela, a magical creature, and as a Veela, she was far more sensitive to magic than humans. It was deduced that when the Goblet was destroyed, it attempted to use the magic of bound participants in order to protect itself.

She was furious when she found out about it. Who would've thought that the Goblet was a dark artifact? It was fortunate that the Goblet was overwhelmed by the power of the sword so quickly, otherwise, she and the rest of the champions would've ended up dead as result. It was a sobering thought, she nearly died even before the tournament was about to begin and ironically, the fault could be laid at the feet of Aries Angelos.

Her savior had nearly killed her, albeit indirectly and unintentionally, but still, it gave her a chill.

What truly shocked her, however, was the true story of Aries Angelos. It was dark, violent, bloody and unlike anything she had imagined. Abandoned by his parents, abused by his relatives, and surviving out on the streets alone after murdering his own abusive relatives in an act of cruel vengeance. Aries had grown into a cold and ruthless individual who stopped at nothing to achieve his goals, even if the collateral damage was the lives of innocents. But then again, what had she expecting? Fleur certainly didn't expect a knight in shining armor or prince charming who came to save a damsel in distress like in a fairytale.

She still remembered that day. The utter carnage and bloody scene that no 11 year old should see. Her captors slaughtered as if worthless animals. Blood on the walls and soaking the ground, torn limbs lying here and there along with guts, bodies scorched and destroyed almost beyond recognition. And all that was the result of Aries Angelos. Now that she had time to lean back and process the facts, it didn't surprise her all that much. The way bodies of those slave traders were mutilated were evidence that her savior could be ruthless and perfectly fit his characteristics.

But still, she owed him a debt. He had saved her from a fate worse than death. The life of sexual abuse and slavery that made her skin crawl and churned her stomach if he hadn't rescued her. Death would be much better option...

"Fleur? Are you alright?" Daphne's voice broke her from her thoughts.

Turning around, she saw her looking at her with hint of worry and compassion. "Eet's ok. I waz just zinking." Fleur responded quietly.

The icy Slytherin knew she was lying but nodded anyway and didn't press the issue. It was a strange feeling to have someone who understood her at her side again. Fleur lost few friends she had after she had gone through Veela puberty. The girls became jealous at her inherent beauty and the boys stared at her as if she was nothing but a sex toy. It had been so long since she had any real friends and she had almost forgotten how it felt. It felt so good, so relieving to have someone whom she could call a friend.

Yet, part of her mind wondered if Daphne was using her and would end up betraying her like others had done. She couldn't help it, she was scarred from loneliness and betrayal that she was naturally suspicious of everyone. However, the logical part of her brain argued that Daphne had gone through a similar experience and wasn't type to give her word, or offer of friendship, so easily. For now, Fleur decided to trust her.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Daphne asked as she quirked an eyebrow.

Fleur opened her mouth to say nothing but quickly closed her mouth as an epiphany hit her. If she remembered correctly, Aries Angelos was sorted into Slytherin, Daphne's house. Therefore, she might know about him.

"I was thinking about Aries Angelos." Fleur answered simply.

Daphne blinked in surprise. "What about him?" She asked curiously.

"E' is in your house, non?" Said Fleur.

The Slytherin Ice Queen nodded. Like all inhabitants of the castle, Daphne knew very little about the enigma that is Aries Angelos. So far she had deduced that he was antisocial and a loner like herself and rather had a ruthless streak judging by the way he quite literally destroyed Snape. She furrowed her eyebrow as she remembered when Angelos gate crashed into the Great Hall and destroyed the Goblet of Fire and blew up the ceiling of the Hall as a collateral damage. Surprisingly quarter Veela seemed to have met him in the past.

"You know him." Daphne said simply. It wasn't a question but a statement.

Fleur nodded solemnly. "And I assume you don't know much about him?" Daphne asked slowly as she tried to connect the dots in her head.

"Non, not much." Fleur answered. "But I would like to know more."

Daphne shrugged in response. "There isn't much to say. He mostly keeps to himself and has anti-social attitude. From what I observed, he prefers it that way." Said Daphne and Fleur nodded slowly with interest.

"Iz zere any way I can meet 'im?" Fleur asked hopefully.

"I can ask him but can I know why?" Daphne asked curiously.

"E' saved my life." Fleur answered with a shrug.

When she didn't elaborate more Daphne just nodded. She could tell the quarter Veela was uncomfortable about it so didn't press the issue.

.oOo.

Meanwhile, in the other part of the castle, Malfoy was pacing back and forth in the Slytherin common room with other Slytherins. The plan was coming along nicely and he would soon have his vengeance. The fire crackled in the fireplace and gave a warm glow to those who sat in front of it while soft green lights bathed the room with chandlers. He, along with the Carrows, Laviana Yaxley, Crabbe, Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, Millicent Bulstrode, John Avery, Adrian Pucey, Marcus Flint, Cassius Rookwood, Maximus Lestrange, and Goyle was standing by the entrance with his bag so that he will warn them by dropping the bag if Angelos came through.

They were currently sitting by the table in the corner as they discussed in hushed tones. The other Slytherins, mainly few mugglebornes and half bloods who were sorted into Slytherin, steadfastly kept their attention focused elsewhere. They had learned since long ago to never draw unnecessary attention to oneself.

"Once he comes in, we'll all have to be in assigned positions." Atticus Carrow outlined with hushed whispers. "But make sure to not take each other out accidently."

Maximus Lestrange, a tall raven haired boy with icy look, stared thoughtfully at the far wall. "The goal of this plan is to strike fear into the hearts of Angelos and anyone else foolish enough to stand against us." He spoke out calmly.

"In order to do that, we need people to witness his fall." Flora Carrow pointed out.

"What if we invited the foreign delegations?" Theodore Nott suggested.

Avery blinked in surprised. "You know, that's actually a good idea. Not only will we punish that upstart but we'll be demonstrating our power in front of foreigners." He continued as a slow smile was formed.

"Yes, it will be an excellent chance for us to form a good connection." Cassius Rookwood commented.

"How many should we invite?" Malfoy asked gleefully. Angelos had humiliated him and his family in front of a crowd during Quidditich World Cup and it was only fair that he was humiliated in front of a crowd in turn.

"Durmstrang for sure." Laviana Yaxley chimed in. "Their school focuses on Dark Arts so they would appreciate the show."

"We need to get Krum here to see it." Maximus said as he stroked his chin.

"What about Beauxbaton?" Millicent Bulstrode grunted. The large girl with square jaw fingered her wand.

"I'm not so sure about them." Rookwood said as he frowned slightly. "The French might disagree with what we do."

"Do you think they'll cause trouble if we bring them?" Marcus Flint, Slytherin Quidditch team captain asked as he leaned back lazily in his chair.

"Perhaps, but it's also a chance for us to show our dominance and cower them." Laviana advised as she glanced at the Lestrange heir.

"It would be nice if the Veela was here as well." Adrian Pucey added with a smirk. The males shared a knowing grin at the thought while the females rolled their eyes.

"Looking for ways to impress her?" Hestia Carrow taunted with a sneer.

The boys ignored the jib. "And how are we going to get her down here? She practically snubs everyone and I doubt she'll come just because we asked." Nott pointed out the problem.

Malfoy balled his fists as he remembered how she flat out rejected his offer of courtship. He, the heir of Malfoy rejected by a mere half-breed! She needs to pay for her insolence. "She seemed to have formed a friendship with Greengrass though." Malfoy added as his mind flashed back to the beautiful but icy heiress of Greengrass family.

"Then we can use her to get her here for the show." Rookwood said with a sly smile.

The Carrow twins let out a snort of contempt. "I doubt Greengrass would agree with our plan." Flora retorted.

"She doesn't have to know. It would just be a house gathering of sort." Atticus countered.

"Right." Hestia drawled sarcastically. "Greengrass would never invite one of her precious friends into the snake pit. It would be a disaster waiting to happen from her point of view."

Maximus Lestrange frowned slightly but nodded nonetheless. The cold and aloof Greengrass heiress was known to have nasty streak of ruthlessness whenever her friends or herself was concerned. It was likely that she wouldn't cooperate. However, Malfoy wasn't fazed at all.

"Pansy, see if you can 'convince' her to invite the Veela here. Bulstrode you help too." Malfoy ordered the pug-faced girl, who was more than happy to help her 'boyfriend.' Millicent Bulstrode just grunted.

"What about Salem?" Nott asked. "Angelos seemed to be quite familiar with that Carpenter girl who transferred here, as well as their professor."

"I don't think we should invite them. They could be Angelos' potential ally." Laviana commented with slight sniff of disdain.

Before anyone could restart the conversation, there was a loud thud as Goyle dropped the bag; signaling that Angelos had walked into the common room. Immediately, the group leaned back and began to have casual conversation while turning their heads slightly to keep Angelos on their peripheral vision. He stopped for a moment, frowning as he observed the common room. Then without a word, he proceeded to go into his room. The group slowly relaxed.

"Bring the 'guests' on this weekend. We attack on Friday." Lestrange murmured and left.

One by one, the purebloods left the table as they inwardly smiled. In few days, Angelos would pay for his insolence.

.oOo.

_'First the Gryffindors and now the Slytherins. My, my, they must be desperate for a smackdown.' _Aries thought idly as he twirled his wand in his dorm.

The moment he entered the common room, he could sense something was wrong. It took him few seconds to process 'the feeling' was in fact, his sixth sense warning him of upcoming danger. After spending years of one's life on the edge, people tended to develop almost supernatural sense that can predict when something bad was about to happen. It was often what people called as gut feeling. The sinking feeling in one's stomach that raises the hair on the neck and sense of foreboding.

Aries had spent years living on the edge ever since he met Meciel. As soon as it had come, the feeling passed. The danger wasn't supernatural nor divine as he was used to. Instead it was nothing more than few pathetic, schoolyard bullies. When he had entered the Slytherin common room, he was enveloped by a sudden hostile intent and cold focus that he usually felt whenever he engaged his enemies. Apparently, the feeling came from the group who were sitting near the table in the corner. Almost reacting instinctively, he allowed their thoughts to flow into him and saw vague sketch of their plan.

Keeping his expression cool and bored, he walked into his room where he continued to sift through the information he was receiving. Another perks of telepathy was that he didn't have to be in the same room as his target. Apparently, they wanted to humiliate him in front of an audience. They would surround him and try to incapacitate him.

_'Idiots, the lot of them.'_ Meciel sniffed disdainfully_. 'As if a Denarian and the Fallen would fall for their pathetic mortal tricks.'_

_"You could use this to your advantage."_ Nightfang hissed as he broke through Denarian's musing.

_"Oh we'll be having a show alright."_ Aries chuckled. _"But they'll be the source of entertainment instead of me."_

_"Perhaps this is the opportunity to reveal that you are a Speaker."_ The black serpent suggested as his golden eyes stared at him from the dark room.

Aries cocked his head and stared thoughtfully at his familiar. Despite his foul attitude, Nightfang was far more intelligent than his brethren. Magical snakes tended to be smarter than regular ones and he occasionally saw things that Aries might've missed.

_"Oh?"_ Aries inquired.

_"I have been exploring the castle as you have asked and can feel the Parslemagic permeating the dorm."_ Nightfang informed him. _"You can use to your advantage."_

_'From what I've read about Hogwarts history, Salazar Slytherin was a Parslemouth.'_ Meciel murmured as she shifted in his head. _'If you overwhelm those mortals with Parslemagic and prove that you are a Speaker, it'll cement your position as their leader.'_

_'I'm not exactly interested in being their ruler.'_ Aries pointed out. _'Besides, we are only going to be here until the tournament is over.'_

_'From what we've gathered, those purebloods are the ones who control this house. At the very least we'll destroy them and you'll be left alone.'_ Meciel pointed out.

_'Well since you put it that way, I'll screw them over just for fun.'_ Aries thought with a grin. _'I never turn down a chance to give a smackdown.'_

Turning back to Nightfang he gave a bloodthirsty grin. _"Let's see if those purebloods are as great as they claim."_ He hissed.

_"Well in any case, I'm getting tired of being cooped up in the room."_ Nightfang grumbled. _"I don't get why great serpent like I should hide from you two-legged humans."_

.oOo.

"Something is about to happen in Slytherin." Daphne murmured as she glanced at the others in an abandoned classroom.

Few days ago, Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode had approached her and not-so-subtly tried to hint her to bring Fleur into Slytherin common room. She didn't bother to respond and had hoped that they would go away but they were rather persistent as proven when even Malfoy got involved. Also, the few muggleborns and half-bloods in Slytherin looked somewhat tense as the days went by and purebloods disappeared in groups from time to time. The signs were there and although she would never admit, Daphne was nervous. Whatever it was, Aries Angelos was involved in it if the subject of discussion she overheard few days ago in the Great Hall was correct.

"Do you think they'll target us as well?" Tracey Davis, one of few half bloods in Slytherin, asked worriedly.

"It's a possibility." A smooth male voice commented solemnly. Turning her gaze, Daphne saw the dark skinned, Italian boy ponder the situation with thoughtful look on his face. Blaise Zabini was one of the few purebloods who decided to remain neutral in Slytherin house politic. Often cool and detached, Blaise succeeded in remaining out from the spotlight.

"Did Parkinson and Bulstrode hint why you should bring her?" He asked with a nod in the direction of final member in the room.

Fleur Delacour kept a cool facade as she sat with three other Slytherins. Daphne had asked her to meet with some of her friends in Slytherin to discuss something but she never thought that it would be this serious. Right now, her instinct was screaming at her to not go there at all.

"No, but they did hint that something was going to happen very soon." Daphne replied with slight frown.

"I've felt that something was going to happen soon." Blaise nodded gravely. "The muggleborns and half bloods in our house are acting rather strange. Not to mention that other purebloods disappear together on occasions."

"Do you z'ink z'ey are going to attack you?" Fleur asked as her lips tugged downward in a grimace. In Beauxbaton such thing would result in expulsion but it seemed Hogwarts was far more lax with its disciplinary actions.

Tracey pursed her lips. "That's what we want to know. We don't know their objective." Tracey said.

"There isn't much we could do." Blaise said after a moment of silence. "Only thing we can do is to stick together and be ready as if we are going to be attacked."

Fleur tightened her grip on her wand. As much as she wanted to help, it would be foolish for her to enter the Serpent's Den. The Slytherins somehow wanted her to be there and if she went, she might be playing right into their trap. She just prayed that whatever might happen, they would come out unscathed.

.oOo.

Aries quietly slipped away from the hordes of students as he exited the Transfiguration class. As usual, the class was a disaster for him. He just couldn't get the damn things to transfigure. McGonagall's' lips seemed to get thinner and thinner with his each failure. While Meciel was paying intently to the professor's lecture, Aries had kept his eyes focused on his fellow 5th Slytherins. He could feel the anticipation and excitement coiling around them.

They were good. Despite the attack they had planned was going to happen _very_ soon, they were able to keep their masks in place. The purebloods were almost giddy while few half bloods and muggleborns seemed rather tense.

_'Well I guess it's time to face the music.'_ Meciel mused as he drew closer to the Slytherin dorm.

He had stayed behind to watch the rest of the Slytherins make their way into the dorm. By staying behind, he reduced the chance for them to jump on him the moment he crossed into the common room.

With a flick of his wand, his Holly and Phoenix feather wand slid out and familiar rush of Hellfire rushed through his veins. The runes carved onto his wand glowed ominously but there was an uncomfortable twitch before it faded away. Aries frowned slightly as he carefully observed his wand. Occasionally, the wand gave an uncomfortable twitch to him whenever he channeled the Hellfire to it. Recently, the occasion occurred more often and the differences in strength of spells cast between the Holly and Phoenix feather wand and Fae steel wand was growing more and more noticeable.

While his steel wand worked perfectly, the wooden wand was slowly growing weaker and he preferred to keep the more powerful, steel wand as a backup.

_'The wand is reaching the end of its usefulness.'_ Meciel murmured as Aries stared critically at it. _'Hellfire is divine magic and doesn't belong in this world. This wand is not suitable for the task forever.'_

_'On well, we knew this day was coming sooner or later.' _Aries shrugged.

Tightening his grip on the wand, Aries cautiously entered the Slytherin dorm. The common room was just the same, except for the few crimson robed Durmstrang students lounging in the corner. Aries saw that the moment he came within the view, the some students turned to look at him with smirks on their faces. Almost immediately, he felt a curse coming from his left so he ducked and rolled away just as another hex splashed at the spot he crouched on. Twirling on his feet he twisted his body as more hexes sailed past him.

_"Reducto!" _Aries hissed as he fired off his own curse in retaliation.

John Avery, who had been sneaking on him from the right, hastily erected _Protego_ shield but stumbled back from the pure raw power put into the curse. By now, everyone in the common room had scrambled backward in order to avoid getting caught in crossfire and formed a large ring around the dueling combatants as they pressed themselves onto the wall.

A jet of red light flew over his head as Aries ducked and a cold smile lit his face as Hellfire pumped in his veins. Dashing to the left, Aries batted away the curses aimed at him and grabbed a pug faced girl's arm and twisted it savagely as he spun around and used her as human shield to block the oncoming spells.

The girl cried out in pain and with a merciless grin, Aries twisted further until the arm was bent at an awkward angle. The crack of the breaking bones was muffled by cry of pain from the pug faced girl as she screamed from the breaking bones and spells colliding against her body. Pushing the now useless human shield away, Aries slammed the butt of his wand on the stone floor and with a loud crack, the stones erupted in front of him, forming a barrier.

With flick of his wrist, his Fae steel wand came out. While he preferred not to use it unless he was facing a difficult opponent, he was outnumbered in an enclosed space. With a wave of his wand, the rock wall broke into chunks and he sent them flying toward his attackers. Vincent Crabbe grunted in pain as a sizable chunk of rock smashed onto his chest and sent him staggering backward in pain.

"Keep firing! We have superior numbers!" Maximus Lestrange yelled out amidst the sounds of chaos.

As one, the purebloods quickly snapped out of their shock and began to fire numerous hexes and curses and surprisingly nimble Denarian as he weaved in between the spells in incredible display of fitness, agility, and balance. Aries leaped to the wall to avoid a bone-breaker and kicked off it as he spun gracefully in the air. While airborne, he sent two dark cutting curses toward his opponents and landed gracefully on his feet. One of the curses went flying and struck one of the watching students who hastily ducked with a startled cry, quickly recognizing the harm, the rest of the watchers hastily dropped to the ground. The other hit its intended target and Marcus Flint howled as he felt the muscles and skin on his shoulder were penetrated, the blood rushing out and quickly staining his clothes.

_"Siagrus! Cornollivo! Frendo! Aceus!"_ Aries snapped out as he began to speed up the tempo of the battle.

It has been too long since he had used dark curses. It felt good to fight once again. The purebloods cried out in alarm as the Denarian suddenly picked up his pace. They tried to dodge and roll out of the way or conjured up shields but cried out in shock and pain when the curses slammed onto their shields. Among the crowds Durmstrang students shouted out in alarm as they clearly recognized the Dark Arts. Almost frantically, he began to pile up the furniture in front of them as a shield and tightly gripped their wand in case they needed to protect themselves from stray curses.

Atticus Carrow cried out in agony as a dark pulverizing curse shattered the shield he hastily erected and slammed onto his arm. He felt the bones of his arm shatter instantly and watched with horror as it exploded in shower of blood and gore.

"Atticus!" Flora shouted with horror as she saw her older brother's arm explode, spraying blood everywhere. She ran toward him and caught him as he fell down like a sack of potato. The scream of his pain and horror tumbled past his lips as Atticus clutched the bloody stump that used to be his arm. Desperately, she raised her wand and tried to stem the flow of his bleeding but nothing came to her mind. There was a loud crash and she looked up just as Millicent Bulstrode was sent crashing onto the ruined sofa of the room by a punched to the face from Aries Angelos. The bulky girl groaned with distress as she clutched her bloodied nose.

A fierce laughter erupted from the raven haired boy as he danced around Cassius Rookwood, Maximus Lestrange and Draco Malfoy while exchanging curses. "C'mon, is this it?" He taunted them.

"You filthy half blood!" Cassius Rookwood snarled at him angrily.

"You'll pay for your disrespect!" Malfoy seethed as he leaped to avoid a piercing hex.

"I've fought better enemies when I was 13 years old!" Aries laughed as he slapped aside dark curse from Lestrange. _"Velignis!"_ He shouted and from the end of his wand, a malevolent violet flame spewed out and rushed toward the 3 purebloods. As one they erected the shield and hissed under the pressure as the fire sought to consume them.

With his other wand, Aries created a glowing glyph in thin air. It's been a while since he had used True-magic during the fight and this was an excellent time for him to practice. Despite its slower nature due to time spent in chanting, the True-magic was more powerful than Wand-magic. Dresden had forbidden him from using it against the innocents but since they attacked him first, he felt it was perfectly justified. As the fire died down, Aries gave them a dark smile as he jabbed his wand at their direction.

_"What I seek is lightning. Izuchi!"_ Aries chanted.

The glyph in the air flashed and from its center a bolt of lightning came out and smashed onto pureblood's weakened shield. The room was briefly illuminated as bright light filled the vision as followed by a crack of small thunder. The lightning smashed through the shield like a tissue paper and slammed into Lestrange, Rookwood, and Malfoy, who let out scream of pain as they felt electricity wash over them and flung them toward the opposite side of the room with painful crack.

Aries was slightly disappointed. He wasn't able to use the spell at full strength otherwise he would've probably killed them outright and destroyed the wall in its path. Just as the thought barely crossed his mind, he had to duck from severing curse that might've decapitated him and spun around and fired off dark slashing curse in return. Laviana Yaxley let out a scream as she felt the curse slash her thigh and stumbled when it cut rather deep.

Executing a graceful backflip to dodge a nasty looking hex from Adrian Pucey, Aries came upon Hestia Carrow who raised her wand to curse him. Batting her wand out of the way, Aries elbowed her in the face and immediately spun her around, switching their footsteps as they did so, and used her body to block incoming curse. She let out a blood curling scream as the curse slammed into her and coughed out blood. Tossing her away, the Denarian swiftly crossed the distance and gave a roundhouse kick to the girl who looked like her twin, knocking her out instantly.

She was holding whimpering boy who had his arm blown off quite literally. Aries scowled at him as he batted away another curse and shot a _Stupefy_ at the whiny bastard as well as stasis charm. He couldn't have him dying of blood loss after all... Rolling away from the body, he steadily kept his wands up as he surveyed the situation.

The three he had used lightning on earlier was on the far end of the room unconscious, their clothes burnt off. The pug faced girl was on the ground near the entrance holding her broken arm while looking like a deformed slug from various spell he had used her to block. The boy who had his arm blasted off was unconscious and in stasis charm while a twin girls who looked rather pretty was lying unconscious slightly away from him.

There were still a few left and they were panting hard as if they had just ran a marathon._ "Serpentsortia."_ He hissed.

From the end of his wand came out nearly 6ft long snake with jet black scales and width as thick as his arm. The snake hissed loudly and reared back as it fixed its deadly golden eyes upon its enemies.

Nightfang.

He cast the spell few more times until there were more snakes.

_"Bite, but do not kill."_ Aries hissed out much to the shock of those gathered in the common room.

The snakes, in unison, rushed toward the remaining purebloods who suddenly looked rather pale upon hearing the emerald eyed boy hiss out Parsletongue. As the snakes slithered toward them, they began to fire curses in panic. Pointing his wand toward the snakes, Aries quickly cast defensive shields and charms. Not enough to stop the attacks completely but enough to stop the harm.

Theodore Nott cried out in pain as one of the snakes struck him, its fangs piercing his skin. He was quickly followed by Crabbe and Goyle, who were screaming in terror and pain as the snakes bit them and wrapped around them, dragging them to the ground.

_"How do you like that you filthy two legs!"_ Nightfang hissed as he bared his teeth at the terrified looking Adrian Pucey, whom he had dragged onto the ground. He had coiled around him and could distinctively smell the stench of urine.

_"That was fun."_ Aries chuckled as he surveyed the battlefield.

_"Let me bite him!"_

_"I want to sink my fangs onto them!"_

_"Let us kill them Speaker!"_

The snakes hissed out to him. _"Unfortunately, while I would like for you to bite them, anymore would result in their death." _Aries hissed out.

With the battle over, the Slytherins stood back up silently as they stared almost unblinkingly at him. Many of them were pale looked ready to faint while the Durmstrang students were watching him warily.

_"I sense Parslemagic in this room Shay."_ Nightfang hissed from his position on top of Adrian Pucey.

Aries hummed as he calmly looked around and locked his eyes on the moving snake of Slytherin banner, which seemed to coil and uncoil almost restlessly. "_Hey there beautiful, can you tell me any secrets regarding this room?"_ Aries spoke to it.

_"A Speaker."_ The snake hissed and strangely the hiss seemed to come all around the room.

_"Speaker."_

_"Speaker."_

A few students yelped in surprise when various snakes on furniture or walls began to hiss loudly. With his enhanced senses, he could feel the magic in the room grow heavier as hisses from the snakes echoed.

_"It's been a long time since a Speaker had graced this room."_ Said the snake in the banner as it peered down at him with its emerald eyes. "_The last one was nearly 40 years ago who went by the name of Tom Riddle."_

_'Tom Riddle. We should look up that name later.' _Meciel whispered as she keenly observed her host's surroundings.

_"Come closer Speaker, the secret room lies beyond me."_ The snake on the far side of the wall hissed at him. Curious, Aries walked across the room and several students standing in front of the wall squeaked in fear and hastily moved away from him.

_"Open."_ Aries hissed.

There was a low rumble as the wall was pushed backward, then it slid sideways to reveal a beautifully lit room. He heard gasps of surprise from the gathered students and stepped into the secret room.

_"This is the room created by Salazar Slytherin for the Speakers." _The snake from the wall hissed at him. _"There hasn't been a Speaker for a long time now, therefore it is yours."_

Aries nodded in approval as he looked around the luxurious room. There would be a time to explore the room later but for now, he needed to deal with something first. Backing out of the room, he hissed it for the room to be closed. The room was silent as he levitated the broken purebloods onto the wall so that they were all arranged in front of him.

_"Enervate."_ He muttered. With a pained groans and whimpers, the purebloods woke up groggily.

"So this is the power of purebloods." Aries snorted condescendingly. "Frankly, I'm not impressed. All of you were pathetic beyond measure."

"You'll pay for this Angelos." The blonde haired boy rasped weakly as he glared hatefully at the Denarian. "When my father hears about this..."

He was quickly cut off by Nightfang who slithered away from his previous victim and hissed threateningly few inches away from him. Malfoy paled considerably and whimpered as he tried to lean further away from the black serpent. Aries blinked as he looked more closely at the blonde pureblood.

"Hey, I remember you! You were that cock-sucking little shit at the Quidditich World Cup!" Aries exclaimed with a snap of his fingers. "What was your name again? I never did remember your name. I just remember you're daddy's little girl who run to him at the first sign of trouble." He concluded mockingly as the pale boy's cheek grew pink of anger.

"I'm Malfoy! Draco Malfoy! I'm the purest-"

Nightfang opened his mouth and the fang grew even more closer to his neck and Malfoy gave a whimper of fright.

"How's your dear daddy by the way?" Aries asked with amused smile. "The last I remember, I ended up kicking your family's collective asses and kicked his balls."

"Or better yet, have you gotten a sex change like I suggested? I mean you're squeaky voice isn't much of a improvement since the last time I saw you." Aries chuckled.

With a wave of his wand, something flew toward him from his dorm. The Denarian caught it deftly and twirled it around his hand before slamming its end down the floor with a loud crack that echoed in the silent dorm.

"Remember this?" Aries asked as he showed off the elegant cane with silver snake head to Malfoy. "It's _my_ pimp cane now."

The Slytherins as a whole drew a collective breath at the sight of Lucius Malfoy's cane. The man never went anywhere without it and to see it at the possession of Angelos was surprising to say the least.

"This isn't over Angelos." Maximus Lestrange hissed as he flinched from the wounds he sustained.

"Oh I think it's very much over." Aries drawled as he sneered arrogantly at him. "Look around you. There were 14 of you but you still got your asses handed to you."

_"Would you like to bite them?"_ Aries hissed at the snakes coiled on top of the purebloods. Whatever insults Malfoy or others tried to spat out died on their lips as they choked back their words from another display of his Parsletongue. Several people near the walls shivered violently at the sounds of hiss coming from the mouth of Denarian.

_"Please let me bite them."_

_"No, I'll bite them."_

_"You can bite them when I say. Curl around them but wait until I say so."_ Aries replied. Looking up toward the collective Slytherin house as well as Durmstrang students, many flinched from his piercing emerald eyes.

"Is there no one else?" Aries questioned the silent room as he tapped the pimp cane.

The silence was suffocating as none dared to challenge him. "I'm disappointed. I had expected for more challenge, but then again, it just goes onto show that all of you are bunch of worthless idiots." Aries mused. Despite the obvious jib, none of them retorted.

"You think I'm not Slytherin? I have Slytherin's gift!" He hissed dangerously and many of them shivered from his dark tone.

"Look at them, look at the so-called rulers of Slytherin hierarchy." Aries sneered mockingly as he gestured at the bound, beaten, and bloodied forms of pureblood heirs and heiresses. "This shows how much of a failure of life they are. In fact, all of you should be ashamed of the fact that you share the same species as them."

_"Lick their faces."_ He commanded the snakes.

Muffled sobs trembled past captives' lips at the slimy feeling of snakes' tongues touching their faces while others nearly hyperventilated from fear.

"Are you afraid? Do you fear me?" Aries asked his beaten foes. They were arrogant and thought that they were better than anyone else. There would be no greater humiliation than to admit that they feared him.

Only muffled chokes and sobs were his answer. When he commanded the snakes to hiss threateningly, they caved in.

"STOP! PLEASE MAKE THEM STOP!"

"NO MORE! GET THEM OFF ME!"

"YES! I'M SCARED OK!"

Turning around, Aries slowly looked at the gathered Slytherins who were looking at him with mixture of fear and shock. Many of them refused to meet his eyes. "Let this be the lesson to all of you to never cross me!" Aries hissed dangerously at them.

_"Bite them but don't kill."_ He commanded the snakes.

"ARRRRGH!" The purebloods screamed in terror and fear as the snakes lunged at them and sunk their fangs into their flesh. There were muffled squeaks, and shouts of horror and shock as the gathered students watched the purebloods' bodies seized up as if undergoing seizure and their hysterical sobs degenerated into choked gurgles.

The silence that permeated the room could've been broken by a pin drop when snakes slithered away from their victims. With a wave of his wand, Aries banished them except Nightfang, who looked almost inordinately smug despite his snake features.

"I suggest you take them to the Hospital Wing quickly." Aries commented as he walked away to the exit. "Otherwise, they may die from blood loss and snake poisoning."

When the boy and midnight snake disappeared from the view many of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, who's going to take them to the Hospital Wing?" A weary voice broke the silence.

"Ve are not." A Durmstrang student muttered and as one, the crimson robed students quickly left the Slytherin dungeon.

The few half bloods and muggleborns shook their heads and retreated to their dormitories, leaving a handful of purebloods who sighed wearily when they exchanged glances. In one fell swoop, Aries Angelos had shattered the pureblood hold on Slytherin house, breaking nearly a thousand year old tradition in a span of few minutes. The pureblood supremacy was violently overturned and it was unlikely that they would ever regain their previous hold on the House of the Snakes. Although no one spoke, they all knew that Slytherin house was about to undergo a major change.

* * *

**Author Note: I always do love bullies getting their just rewards. Everyone had been bullied at one point of their lives and this idea came to me when I reflected on one of my childhood bully. He eventually got caught and was beaten by my second grade teacher until his legs were red and bruised. (In Asian countries, it is acceptable for teacher to punish the students by hitting them)**

**Oh and the True-magic I used was inspired by the spells used in Legend of Legendary Heroes.**


	17. To Fear the Devil

**I made some adjustments in the previous chapter. I've been rereading my work and quite a few people suggested that I insert lemon into them, so I did.**

* * *

**To Fear the Devil**

The first thing Benjamin Potter noticed as consciousness returned to him was pain. His body throbbed and he groaned from the aches of his bandaged wounds. The next thing he noticed was the smell. It was a distinctive, sanitized smell and one that he had become quite familiar with. And lastly, he felt the stiff sheet beneath him and knew without a doubt that he was in the Hospital Wing... Again. He had ended up here quite often throughout the years and was used waking up in such way. Creaking his eyelids open, he squinted from the brightness and hastily groped for his glasses, which he knew was beside the bed table.

"Here, let me get that for you." A soft voice murmured from his side and he felt the familiar weight of his glasses settling on the bridge of his nose.

Opening his eyes further, he caught a flash of red and saw that it was actually the hair of a person. A familiar pair of vibrant green eyes locked onto his own hazel ones and he saw that his mother was sitting by his bedside with worried look on her face.

"Mum?" Benjamin croaked as he tried to sit up, only to wince from pain.

"Shhh, it's alright baby, mommy's here." Lily cooed gently at her son. From behind the form of his mother, he saw his father looking at him with worried look.

"How are you doing son?" James asked him quietly.

"Ugh, like as if I got stomped by a Hippogriph." He grumbled as he twisted his head to look at the beds next to him.

To his right, he saw his best friend, Ronald Weasley, grumbling on his bed as his siblings surrounded him. To his left, he saw the bushy hair of Hermione Granger, who was still asleep. Further down, he saw Neville Longbottom talking quietly with his own parents. From the look of his face, he seemed rather sour.

"How did I get here?" He asked after a moment.

"The American transfer student, Amanda I think, asked some students for help and they brought you here." Answered Poppy Promfey as she came out of her office. Marching over to her patients, she waved her wand over him to cast the diagnosis charm.

"Well Mr. Potter, you suffering from several broken bones and bruises," The nurse commented as she finished her analysis. "But other than that, you are fine."

"Why the long face Poppy? I've been here quite a lot, I thought you'd be happy to see me." Benjamin said with a cheeky grin.

"That's far too much if you ask me." She muttered as she moved away.

"So what is it this time?" Lily asked her son with a sigh. Honestly, Benjamin seemed to make it his school plan to end up here nearly every other week.

"It's nothing mum, don't worry about it." He murmured as he fidgeted under his parents' scrutiny. While he wasn't as socially tactful like Hermione, that didn't mean that he was socially inept like Ronald Weasley. Despite being a friend with the red haired boy since childhood, even he had to agree with Hermione when it came down to how blunt and insensitive he was.

Really, what was he supposed to tell his parents? Hey mom and dad, I got into a fight with my older brother, who just happens to be your estranged son. As it turns out, he truly is a slimy snake like all those Slytherins and a dark wizard to boot.

No, he really didn't want to burden his parents. Not when they were already distraught over the issue of his older brother. Unfortunately for Benjamin, his mother knew him far too well to be tricked by his excuses.

"Benjamin Sirius Potter, you are a horrible liar." Lily said in a tone that usually had his dad cowering in fear. Despite being a loving and caring mother, she was quite terrifying with her fiery temper. It was something of a legend among his family and friends.

Behind Lily, James resisted the urge to fidget like his son. He may be the Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, but he knew that Lily had him by the balls, both figuratively and literally, so to speak.

When Benajmin remained silent, Lily sighed as she looked at him. "Amanda told us that you went to meet Aries." She said with a frown.

Benjamin snapped up his face to look at his mom as myriad of different emotions clashed inside him. "What did she tell you?" He asked with trepidation.

"Just that you went to meet him with Ron, Hermione, Neville and her, which by the way, turned out into a fight." Said Lily as she looked back at him.

"Is she here as well?" Benjamin asked as he looked around the Hospital Wing for a sign of dirty blond hair.

"No, she was the only one amongst you four who wasn't injured." Lily sighed with a shake of her head.

"Well? I'm still waiting for your answer." Said Lily after a moment of silence.

"I had to meet him mum." Benjamin said dejectedly as he looked away from her. "I wanted to see if he truly was my brother."

At that moment, the Hospital Wing opened and walked in Amanda Carpenter. She took a moment to look around and walked over to Hermione's bed since Ron, Neville and he were occupied by family members. Benjamin didn't take his eyes off her form until she sat down by bushy haired girl's side and a cough interrupted his observation. Turning his head back, Benjamin saw that his dad was looking at him with mischievous twinkle in his eyes and wiggled his eyebrows. He felt his face flush with heat especially when his mother gave him a knowing look.

"So anything we should know about son?" James asked him with teasing grin as he turned the subject away from the sour subject. It might be one thing to have a quarrel but to put one's family hospitalized was something that he truly didn't want to dwell on.

Benjamin felt his face heat up even further at his dad's teasing. For a while now, he had been noticing just how attractive the American transfer student was, or any female that caught his fancy. He was currently fourteen years old and going through puberty with his hormones raging up and down. In a school filled with magical youths and hormonal teenagers, his body was just begging him to shag practically anything wearing skirts. And boy, was Amanda hot!

Pretty face, with wide, storm cloud eyes and a mane of dirty blonde hair, she was already a subject of many vivid fantasies for boys in Gryffindor dorm. It was easy to tell that the blonde would grow up to be a real knockout when she finished maturing. Slytherin has Daphne Greengrass, Hufflepuff has Susan Bones, and now, Gryffindor has Amanda Carpenter. As for Ravenclaws... well he didn't really know.

Ever since the middle of his third year, he had been growing steadily more interested in female bodies. Of course, his dad and uncles rejoiced with raucous laughter that had him rather embarrassed when they gave him the "talk" as well as various "techniques" they had discovered. All he remember was that it involved lots of fire-whiskies, wild gesturing, and condoms (courtesy of Sirius). When his mother found out the manner they had given him the "talk," his dad and uncles flinched for nearly 2 weeks whenever they saw her.

He, Neville, and Ron spent nearly an hour or two each day dedicated to ogling attractive female students or discussing the most popular subject of their age: sex. They were often accompanied by their dorm mates like Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. It wasn't that difficult for them to overhear several older students who went on to describe their intimate encounters in broom closets or Astronomy Tower. Perhaps he should use his fame to sleep with one of attractive female students...

"It's nothing dad." Benjamin said with a huff while his mother looked on with slightly amused smile. Flickering her eyes beyond her son, Lily gave a knowing smile to Benjamin when she saw Amanda Carpenter approaching her son's bed since she had finished talking with Hermione.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Potter." Amanda greeted the adults with polite smile.

"Hello Amanda." Lily greeted her with a warm smile. "Call me Lily, and I must thank you for bringing my son here."

"It was nothing." Amanda replied shyly with slight shake of her head.

James walked forward and shook his hand with her as his hazel eyes glinted with hint of mischief from behind his glasses. "So you are the girl that Benjamin befriended." He said with cheerful smile. "Pleased to meet you, I'm James Potter."

"How come you're not in the Hospital Wing?" Benjamin sulked from his bed as he half-heartedly glared at her.

With a small sigh, Amanda turned her attention to the Boy-Who-Lived. "How are you feeling Ben?" She asked as she sat down on one of the chairs next to the bed.

Benjamin grunted in answer. "I don't know how you got so lucky to not get hit by a curse." He muttered.

"I was at the very back of the group and didn't antagonize him." She said with a shrug.

Benjamin scowled at the mention of his brother. "What was I supposed to do? He stole the map!" He grumbled heatedly.

James looked at him with a surprised expression. "Aries took the map?"

"Well he said that he was going to give it back after he finished copying it..." Amanda muttered weakly in response.

"No, he stole from me!" Benjamin argued angrily as his fists clenched at the thought of humiliation he suffered by his older brother.

James sighed dejectedly and Lily bit her lower lips from trembling. "I'll go see Aries if I can convince him to give it back." Amanda offered hesitantly.

"Can you really do that?" Lily asked her with hope in her eyes. So far, her estranged son only interacted with Amanda, whom he had known for several years now. If anyone had the chance, it was probably her.

Amanda nodded. "But I wouldn't get my hopes up, he can be quite stubborn if he wants to be." She mumbled the last part.

Nonetheless, Lily heard at and looked at her with rapt attention. "Can you tell me more about him?" She asked her interestedly with hint of eagerness. While she had discovered his less-than-fortunate past, she still had lot to know about Aries, such as his personality, likes, hobbies, etc..

Amanda fidgeted uncomfortably at the request. There was absolutely no way she would tell them that Aries Angelos was a Denarian, a human-turned-hellspawn who sold his soul to a Fallen Angel. Not only was the information classified, it would undoubtedly drive the Potters to grief. They already had suffered much when his past was revealed and there was no need to burden them any further. But still, what was she supposed to tell them? Aries was very secretive and was someone who kept his secrets very close to his chest.

"Uhhh, well you see, Aries doesn't really share his life story with anyone." Amanda began hesitantly as Lily and James hung intently at her words. "I may have known him for several years but only met him few times."

"But doesn't he consider you his friend?" Lily asked uncertainly at the blonde haired girl.

"I'm not sure about that." Amanda murmured uncomfortably. "He doesn't trust people easily and is always suspicious of everyone he meets."

James' and Lily's shoulders slumped down slightly at the news. However, it shouldn't have surprised them. Abused children didn't trust other people easily and according to his tale, he lived on the streets afterward.

"He said that he had known your family for few years now." James picked up after a moment. "And that you met him in Israel, can you tell me more about that?" He asked with slight eagerness.

"My family was vacationing in Israel when we came across him." Amanda lied smoothly. Well actually, it wasn't exactly a lie since they _were_ vacationing despite her dad's job as a Knight of the Cross. "My dad came across him and brought him to our home." She finished the story slightly uncomfortably.

"Does-Does he live with your family?" Lily asked.

Amanda shook her head. "No, as far as I know, he always lived alone."

"You said your dad came across him, what do you mean by that?" James questioned the blonde American who seemed to get more and more uncomfortable.

"He was bit ahh- injured so to speak, so my dad brought him home to heal him." Amanda murmured. She couldn't exactly tell them that it was technically her father's and uncle Sanya's fault that he ended up in near-dead state.

"Was he injured badly?" Lily asked as she tighten her grip with worry.

"He's alright now, and there are no lasting injuries." Amanda answered weakly as she deflected the question.

Lily, sensing the girl's uncomfortable posture, thanked the girl and decided to stop her questions. The subject was clearly an uncomfortable topic for the girl and her sharp mind deduced that Aries probably had warned her from telling anything. Benjamin didn't avert his eyes from her until she went out of the room. A cough interrupted him again and he saw his dad wiggling his eyebrows suggestively once again whereas his mom was looking at him with stern expression. Benjamin sighed and let out a groan. This was going to be one of those days...

.oOo.

Albus Dumbledore was an old man. In his nearly 150 years of life, he had seen, for a lack of better term, a lot of _shit_. When he was young, his beloved younger sister was attacked by Muggles and lost control over her magic and his father retaliated against the ones who hurt her; As result he was sent to jail. He grew up with Alberforth and Arianna while growing increasingly agitated as he felt the best years of his life waste away. Then he met Gellert Grindelweld, a fellow wizard, who was just as brilliant as him and became his best friend. For a while, all was good, they had a grand vision to change the world, at least until he began to grow darker and darker. Their friendship ended with 3 way duel between himself, Gellert, and Alberforth which resulted in Arianna's death. Alberforth, furious at the death of his beloved sister, cut any familiar tie with him and Gellert Grindelwald eventually became one of the most powerful Dark Lord the Europe had ever witnessed, wrecking a havoc on Wizarding World during his rampage by using the World War II as a cover.

Unable to watch his once-best friend's rampage any longer, he defeated him in a duel, which led him being catapulted to his status as one of the most influential wizard of his time. For a while, he thought everything would die down and the Wizarding World would recover. Unfortunately, it was only a calm before the storm as the first rise of Voldemort came. The idea of pureblood supremacy, which had been shimmering beneath the surface of their society, rose into fervor and came the reign of terror. People were dying left and right, the Ministry was in chaos and in brink of collapse, and the Muggles were beginning to notice strange disappearing. While he was powerful, there was only so much he could do.

And then came the miracle. Voldemort, at the height of his power, was vanquished by mere babies. It was shocking, to say the least, but nonetheless an excellent news. Benjamin Potter and Neville Longbottom were hailed as the Boys-Who-Lived and came the an era of relative peace. He knew that Voldemort wasn't truly gone, but they had time to prepare, time to recuperate and ready themselves until he rose once again. But never in his wildest imagination did he thought that a new player would enter the game.

Aries Angelos, or Aries Potter (Harry Potter for his nickname), as he was formerly called, looked as if he wouldn't turn out any better than Tom Riddle. He still remembered that day, when he dropped him off at Dursley's doorstep. When he had first suggested the idea to separate Aries from Benjamin, Dumbledore never thought that it would end up with Aries at Lily's sister's doorstep. Dumbledore knew that he didn't have a good track records with the orphans. Tom Riddle, a powerful and talented youth, immersed himself with the Dark Arts and became the most powerful and the cruelest Dark Lord of the century. Aries Angelos, on the other hand, did something that he truly never expected: he accepted an immortal Fallen Angel and became a Denarian.

Ever since their first meeting, Albus Dumbledore had a nagging voice in the back of his mind, whispering of the danger the Denarian presented. That, combined with his anxiety and apprehension, made it extremely difficult for him to continue watching the eldest Potter child. They were so frighteningly similar in many ways that a cold shiver ran down his spine every time he saw him. Both Tom Riddle and Aries Angelos had abusive background. Both of them had used their powers to retaliate against their abusers and destroy everyone and everything that stood in their way. Both had been sorted into Slytherin, making them almost a mirror image of each other. One had lost his sanity to the dark and became a monster, and the other, became a demon, literally.

_'With so much darkness in the world, will the light prevail?' _He thought gloomily.

Yet, all was not lost. There was still a hope for Aries Angelos. While the Denarian didn't tell him much about his association with the Order of Blackened Denarius, he made it clear that he wasn't fond of them at all. It seemed that Meciel, the Fallen inhibiting Aries, had a grudge against them and was intent on wiping them out. And lastly, the one that filled him with most hope, he was an associate of the Carpenters. Despite their brief meeting, Albus could tell that Amanda and Molly Carpenter were truly good people and their father was perhaps, one of the holiest men in the world, a Knight of the Cross.

Dumbledore sighed as he took a break from the paperwork and sucked on one of his beloved lemon drops. Few days ago, he had read the report that Benjamin and his friends had landed themselves in Hospital Wing... Again. This time, however, it was because of Aries Angelos. From what he had discovered, they had confronted the Denarian and predictably, Aries had been less than pleased. Albus sighed as he rubbed his forehead. He had visited the Golden Foursome (that's what students had began to call them) and it seemed that they had decided to stalk him using Potter's Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map. From what they had described, it was as if the Denarian had savagely attacked them outright without an explanation and stole the Map. However, he knew better, and after questioning Amanda Carpenter, the Denarian didn't take too kindly his stalkers. Not to mention, he saved the girl from being injured in the crossfire.

Ever since Benjamin and Neville had come to Hogwarts, it seemed they made it a goal to land themselves in trouble every single year. Voldemort possessed professor, the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk, Peter Pettigrew escaping the Azkaban and the following attempted kidnapping, and finally, the Tetra-School Tournament. Next to him, a soft trill interrupted his thoughts and he smiled as Fawkes fixed him with his black eyes.

"Ahh Fawkes, my old friend, it is times like this that I truly feel the age beginning to catch up with me." He muttered with solemn smile.

The phoenix trilled once again and he could hear a disproving note from his familiar as if berating him for his such thoughts. "I know, I know, my next Great Adventure is still far away." Dumbledore chuckled jovially as the familiar twinkle came back to his eyes.

"But I am getting old Fawkes." Albus said quietly as he fixed his solemn eyes to his phoenix familiar. "I am beginning to make mistakes that I haven't made in recent years."

Fawkes leaped off his perch and landed on Dumbledore's shoulder and began to sing lightly to cheer up his life companion, and Albus felt the weight around his heart lift. Giving the majestic bird a small smile of gratitude, the old headmaster of Hogwarts turned to stare out the window with contemplative look.

Voldemort's claim as one of the most powerful wizard in the existence wasn't all arrogant boasting at all, he is truly considered as a powerful wizard. In his descent to darkness, Tom Riddle studied and mastered many forbidden magic as well as ancient spells that were thought to have been lost in the sands of time. His repeated dark rituals had twisted him and Dumbledore was sure that Voldemort wasn't entirely human anymore. Against the Boys-Who-Lived, Voldemort has decades of experience, raw power, and skill forged through life-long conflict. Benjamin Potter and Neville Longbottom wouldn't stand a chance against him.

While he didn't particularly enjoy the dangers that came at the end of every school year, there were some positive aspects them. These challenges allowed him to gauge the Boys-Who-Lived and their potentials. Unfortunately, what he saw wasn't great at all. Despite being the prophesized ones to defeat Voldemort, they barely had what it takes to defeat him.

First year, Voldemort had gone after the Philosopher's Stone and the two boys, with help of Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, went after him themselves. While they did pass through the obstacles, they could barely stand up against Voldemort-possessed-professor, despite the training he provided them since childhood. He had expected them to last a little longer and it was only Voldemort's pride and arrogance that saved their lives.

Second year, the Chamber of Secrets was opened and Albus just _knew_ that Tom was somehow responsible for the attack. The answer didn't reveal itself until they were able to catch Ginny Weasley attempting to raise the Basilisk. As it turned out, she was possessed by the enchanted diary and it was only thanks to the ghosts and portraits that he was able to get a glimpse of the culprit. She was dragging along incapacitated boys to the Chamber when she was spotted. As soon as he was alerted, he gathered the other professors and confronted possessed Ginny on the outside of the girl's restroom on the second floor. Too their shock, she hissed Parsletongue and the sink was transformed into the entrance to the Chamber where the Basilisk came out. Fawkes was able to blind the great serpent before he was able to finish it off. Deciding that the restroom was too dangerous, he brought down the sink and the tunnel until they were buried under chunks of rocks.

Third year, Peter Pettigrew broke out of the Azkaban and the Dementors were sent to Hogwarts as result. Long story short, the man was able to stun Benjamin and wound Neville in an attempt to kidnap them. Unfortunately, he escaped despite their best efforts.

Dumbledore stroked his long beard as he frowned thoughtfully. The prophecy stated that the Dark Lord would mark them as his equal and he had yet to see any signs. Everything pointed out that Benjamin and Neville were only above average in terms of magical power, skill, or intelligence and it was mostly thanks to the tutoring he gave them since young age. While they were better than most of their peers, it was no where they needed to be in order to defeat Voldemort. If this was their true potential, then the British Wizarding World was doomed.

The ICW didn't particularly care anything about other than the Statue of Secrecy. For all they cared, Voldemort could rule England as long as he didn't jeopardize their existence. The last time they had gotten involved was the Tunguska Event when the Russian wizards attempted to subjugate their Muggle neighbors. Recognizing a massive threat to Statue of Secrecy, ICW dispatched elite, hunter-killer team and wiped out the entire civilization. Every men, women and children were killed and it was covered up as a nuclear explosion. Even onto this day, the Russian Magical Community hadn't recovered fully. If Voldemort wasn't stopped, it was most likely that England would meet the same fate.

_'At the rate Benjamin and Neville are developing, they wouldn't stand a chance and everything in England would be destroyed.'_ Dumbledore thought grimly.

He briefly entertained the thought of asking Aries for help but immediately discarded the idea. The Denarian wasn't particularly interested in the affairs of Wand-Wizards and was more likely to pursue his own vengeance against the Order of Blackened Denarius rather than help save thousands of lives. Besides, he did hint that he didn't live in Britain...

Regardless of the situation, it was imperative that he find his successor. He couldn't protect the Wand-Wizarding world from the encroaching darkness forever. There were dangers out there that Wand-Wizarding world never knew, and most of them were kept at bay by him for nearly half a century now. It was a lonely and secretive war he fought for the sake of his world and it was nearing a time when he would need to pass on the responsibility. However, try as he might, there was simply no one who showed the promise and talent to bear the burden. When he heard the prophecy predicting the downfall of Voldemort, he had hoped that the Chosen One would be able to carry on his legacy. However, after mentoring and observing the Boys-Who-Lived, that hope was beginning to be extinguished rapidly.

Of the youths he met, the only one who showed enough power and skill to combat such darkness was Aries Angelos, who was arguably the most powerful wizard of his generation in the entire world. He had yet to meet a teenager who was able to go toe-to-toe against him in a battle other than the Denarian, and also, there was a fact that he had been fighting against supernatural foes since his childhood, making him more than prepared for such burden. Yet, he knew that Aries would never agree to sacrifice his future and livelihood to protect the Wizarding World from danger. It was more likely that if it came down to saving the Wizarding World at the cost of his life, Aries Angelos would probably sacrifice the lives of thousands to save himself.

_'The more I think about the future, the older I feel.'_ Albus mused tiredly. _'I can feel the age creeping on me.'_

Suddenly, the fireplace flashed green and the head of Poppy Promfey appeared. "Albus! We have a problem!" The nurse shouted in an urgent voice.

"What happened Poppy?" Dumbledore asked swiftly as he rose from his seat and moved toward the fireplace.

"Fifteen students came stumbling into the Hospital Wing just few minutes ago and two of them needs to be treated in St. Mungos!" She yelled frantically.

"I'll be there right now." Dumbledore told her quickly.

Dumbledore quickly left the office with speed that belied his old age. As he passed swiftly through the halls, students quickly scrambled out of his way and cast surprised and nervous glance at his retreating back. As he turned around the corner leading to the Hospital Wing, he saw Minerva McGonagall coming from the other side of the hallway.

"Minerva." Dumbledore greeted her with a quick nod of his head. "I assume Poppy had contacted you as well?"

The Transfiguration mistress gave a him a curt nod and together, they pushed open the door to the Hospital Wing and strode inside. Poppy was going back and forth between numerous beds as she tended the wounded students. The beds in the Wing were more than two-third full and groans of pain emitting from the injured filled the room. Near the back of the room, Severus Snape could be found pacing back and forth with irritation and rage clearly shown on his face.

Muttering a quick banishing charm to get rid of bloody rag, Poppy forced down a Dreamless Sleep potion onto the student she was checking on. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Poppy Promfey made her way toward the headmaster with a weary sigh followed closely by infuriated Snape.

"What happened Poppy?" Dumbledore asked urgently at the tired looking school nurse.

"It was Angelos!" Snape exploded before she could open her mouth. "He's the one who put them here! I want him expelled Dumbledore! This has gone too far!" Snape continued to rant.

Dumbledore let out a tired sigh and grimly observed the surrounding students. "How are they Poppy?" He asked with a grimace.

"There are fifteen of them and all of them are in Slytherin. Every single one of them has a broken bone and that's not counting burn marks, lacerations, spell damage, and poisons." Poppy said with a grimace.

"Poisons?" McGonagall asked with a heavy frown.

"Snake poisons, to be precise." Promfey clarified above the whimpers of pain. "Not enough to kill, thankfully, but enough to be quite painful."

"This is clearly out of bounds headmaster!" Snape yelled furiously as his coal black eyes glittered with rage and malice. "First, he attacks me and now he seriously wounded fifteen students!" For once, McGonagall didn't bother to berate the potion master for his accusations.

"And that's not the worst part," The school nurse said as her lips thinned with displeasure. "Two of the students had to be transferred to St. Mungos because their injuries were far too serious for me to handle."

"What happened to them?" Minerva asked with horrified whisper as blood drained from her face.

"One of them had his arm completely blown off and the other is suffering from broken bones and numerous spell damage." Poppy finished the report with increasingly grim tone.

"Well headmaster? What'll you do about this?" Snape asked him with acidic tone. "The parents of the students will no doubt be notified now that two of them are in St. Mungos. To make matters worse, all of them are heirs or heiresses of pureblood families." The potion master continued to rant angrily.

Dumbledore straighten up as a grimace crossed his features. This was quickly spiraling out of control. Aries Angelos had truly crossed the line with his newest stunt. The purebloods would never sit still now that their heirs and heiresses had been harmed and would no doubt call for his blood. If the Denarian is anything to judge by, he would retaliate with even greater force and brutality, resulting in national crisis if he ended up killing several leading families of Magical England. And that's not to mention how Potters and Black would get involved, which would further deteriorate the worsening situation.

These purebloods were old families with lots of influence, money, and power. They will push Wizengamot to arrest him while Potters and Black would probably veto the vote, leading to a fierce political battle in midst of Tetra-School Tournament (the new name he had given) and Voldemort's bid to reclaim his power.

It took Dumbledore's all of self-control to groan out loud. He wouldn't put it past for these purebloods to hire assassins to eliminate Aries Angelos or send a squad of Aurors to arrest him straight from Hogwarts. Either way would end in a disaster. Dumbledore had no doubt that the Denarian, despite his youth, was far more experienced than veteran Aurors and powerful enough to slaughter anyone who came after him. His raw power, combined with his deadly arsenal of dark and dangerous spells, would ensure that anyone foolish enough to challenge him would meet a violent and gruesome end. Only someone of his caliber would be able to subdue him.

No, he could not allow the Wizarding Britain to be torn apart. "Severus, Minerva, send a message to each of the families to meet me in my office as soon as they can, preferably tomorrow evening." Dumbledore gave out the orders as he looked at his two professors. "We cannot allow this to deteriorate any further, otherwise, this may just tear apart our world." He finished with grim tone.

With curt nods, the two heads of the houses briskly strode away from the Hospital Wing to do as Dumbledore suggested. "Mipsy!" The old headmaster commanded and with a crack, a house elf appeared in front of him.

"How can Mipsy help you headmaster?" The house elf squeaked as she bowed low.

"I want you to give a message to Aries Angelos to meet me in my office this evening." Dumbledore instructed with a serious tone. With another bow, the elf disappeared with a crack to find the Denarian.

_'The things I must do for the Greater Good...'_ Dumbledore thought resignedly with a heavy sigh.

.oOo.

Deep within the luxurious mansion, a tall blonde haired man sat in his office brooding as he sipped on firewhiskey. His cold grey eyes that often pinned his opponents to their spot was staring into an empty space as he mused thoughtfully of recent events. Ever since the summer, things had been going downhill for Lucius Malfoy and his allies. The following events after the Quidditch World Cup had the dark families in bind as the Ministry of Magic had been keeping an close eye on them.

_'Damn Potter, Longbottom, and Black.' _Lucius thought sourly as he drained another gulp.

Ever since the fall of the Dark Lord, the Potters and Longbottom had become a political powerhouse following their children new celebrity status as the Boys-Who-Lived. The public adored them and Fudge had been more then eager to suck up to Potters and Longbottoms, knowing that it would bolster his position. Although most purebloods supported the Dark Lord and held the seats in Wizengamot, the Light side, led by Potters, Longbottoms and Black, had been steadily growing stronger and stronger. The status quo between the Dark and Light was eventually tipped toward the Light and the purebloods found themselves no longer able to pass on laws they wanted.

It had been because of mounting frustration and anger that Lucius and former Death Eaters had decided to don the white masks and black cloaks once more to strike fear into the hearts of the Wizarding World. The Mudbloods and their supporters, led by that blood traitor Dumbledore, had been gaining more and more power and good, respected purebloods like themselves were suddenly finding their world was changing toward the wrong direction. More and more of those filthy Mudbloods or Half-bloods were taking jobs away from the purebloods and quite few of them found their family fortune grow smaller and smaller.

The Wizarding World needed to be brought back to its status quo. And thus, he and his comrades decided to give their first debut since fourteen years. It was all suppose to go according to plan, the Light side would falter and hopefully, stop corrupting their society.

However, the things went downhill the moment his family met that emerald eyed boy. Lucius gritted his teeth at the memory of their humiliation and how easily they were overpowered. Also, his fellow Death Eaters had encountered a brutal resistance when they expected none. Now, Goyle, Crabbe, Macnair, and Rosier were dead along with few others.

Personally, he suspected the same boy. Who else had the power, audacity, and ruthlessness to attack them in such brutal manner? The Light side were cowards and far too naive and the Aurors didn't arrive until later, meaning that someone from the crowd had reacted. Someone who didn't play by the rules, someone who was gifted in Dark Arts...

And from the reports his son had given from Hogwarts, it turns out that the mystery boy's identity wasn't far off from his original conjecture. Aries Estel Angelos, originally Aries James Potter, the eldest child of that blasted James Potter. He had to call in some favors to find the name of the brat and it had been quite difficult as his legal name had been changed to Angelos from Potter. The goblins were rather reluctant to part any information regarding the subject and he filed away that thought for later contemplation.

Now, Draco had recently mailed him saying that he was planning on making Angelos boy pay for his transgression against the Malfoy family along with other purebloods...

At that moment, the fireplace in his study lit with emerald flames as the head of Severus Snape appeared on it.

_'Speak of the devil.'_ Lucius thought wryly.

"Severus, what can I do for you?" The Malfoy patriarch greeted the potion master.

"Lucius, I'm afraid this isn't a social call." The greasy man informed him. "There has been an emergency."

"What happened?" The blonde haired man asked as his mind whirled with possibilities.

"Draco and other purebloods confronted Angelos, the boy I told you about, and they are now hospitalized." Snape said grimly.

Lucius' cold, grey eyes stared intently at the potion master. "What do you mean hospitalized?" He asked as he squashed down his growing sense of anger.

"All of them are suffering from broken bones and Dumbledore has asked me and McGonagall to contact the parents of the students for a meeting." Said Snape.

"When?"

"Tomorrow evening."

"Very well, I'll be there."

The fireplace died down and the emerald glow faded from the room. Turning away from the fireplace, Lucius sharply strode toward the alcohol cabinet and pulled out a bottle of old firewhiskey. Pouring out the content onto the glass cup, he swallowed the entire content in one gulp.

With a loud exhale, he slumped down onto his chair and rubbed his forehead. Ever since the Hogwarts had started, Draco had disappointed him more and more as time went on. His rivalry with Potter and Longbottom were just one of many, and every time he came back from school, he would rant about them nearly nonstop. Despite being sorted into Slytherin, the boy rarely displayed the cunning the Slytherin House was known for and often rushed into situation like those bloody Gryffindors.

And now, just another one of his plans ended up backfiring onto his face once again. This time, however, it landed him in Hospital Wing with thirteen others and two of them were critically injured to be transferred to St. Mungos. He had heard that Parkinson girl and the Carrow heir to have been hospitalized earlier today, but never knew to be the truth but now, after talking to Severus, he had no doubt.

Forgoing the glass cup, he took a swig directly from the bottle before letting it down with a loud thud onto his desk. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, he would have his vengeance against that blasted Angelos brat and demand a retribution and Dumbledore would be foolish to ignore his demand. He had no doubt that other pureblood parents would support him.

Aries Angelos would pay for crossing the Malfoy family.

.oOo.

Back in the headmaster's office in Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore was debating whether to bash his own skull onto the stone walls or simply use Aries Angelos' own head instead. The Weasley twins- no, not even the Marauders had caused this much mayhem. The Denarian, on the other hand, looked utterly unrepentant as usual and had the gall to looked bored while at it! He had to admit, this disaster rivaled the time when Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets for the first time and let loose a Basilisk in the school, resulting in death of a young student named Myrtle.

"Remind me again exactly why you felt needed to wound the heirs and heiresses of fourteen pureblooded family and hospitalize two of them?" Dumbledore asked in calm voice that belied his incredible frustration and growing anger.

Aries rolled his eyes. "I told you that they set up an ambush for me and would've seriously injured me if I didn't defend myself." He answered with exasperated sigh. "I simply decided to retaliate in kind."

"And the two that were hospitalized to St. Mungos because of their extensive injuries?"

"As for that pug-faced girl, I only broke her arm, the rest was done by others." Aries grunted, easily ignoring the sharp look Dumbledore threw at him at the 'pug-faced' remark. "As for the other, he threw a dark curse at me, so I did the same."

Dumbledore grew silent and observed the boy in front of him with hard eyes that would've sent even the bravest man into a shivering mess and reduce any students into hysterical tears. The Denarian, on the other hand, looked stoically back at him, although he did detect a hint of grimace and uncertainty.

"Do you have _any_ idea how much trouble you've caused?" Albus asked in a tight voice.

The Denarian, as predicted, opened his mouth to give a scathing retort but closed his mouth with a click as he observed him with a slight frown. He cocked his head, in a gesture that Dumbledore recognized as conversing with the Fallen Angel living within him and patiently waited for the answer.

"I defended and established myself as the undisputed king within the social pecking order." Aries answered. "As well as shattering the pureblood supremacy that had been entrenched in Slytherin for nearly a thousand of years."

"There is that." Dumbledore conceded. "But what you did could turn out into a bloodbath." He warned him grimly.

Aries merely quirked his eyebrows in response.

With a heavy sigh, Dumbledore rubbed the bridge of his nose as he leaned back into his chair. "All of the students you've harmed have influential parents who control the British Wizarding World. They are old pureblooded families who have lots of influence and power as well as having seats in Wizengamot. They could push for your arrest, in worst cases, execution." Dumbledore informed him.

Aries tabbed his fingers thoughtfully on his chair for few moments. "And do you think that I actually would let that happen?" He questioned him with underlying hint of steel.

"That's exactly why this would turn out to be a bloodbath as well as become a national crisis." Said Dumbledore.

"And how strong are the Aurors on average? Are they on the similar skill level as the professors in this school? They would probably the ones who would be sent after me." Aries questioned the aged man.

"No, the professors in this school are much more skilled than average Aurors but you would be wise to not underestimate them." Dumbledore cautioned.

Aries snorted. "You seemed to have forgotten Dumbledore, that I'm used to battling supernatural foes who are stronger, faster, and deadlier than humans." He muttered. "It's more likely that _they_ would be the ones to get slaughtered."

Dumbledore's face grew tighter. "Which would undoubtedly make the matters worse." He said with grimace.

Aries cocked his head as he silently studied him. "I am not without allies Dumbledore, allies who have enough power and resources to match the force of British Ministry of Magic." He said calmly.

Now, it was Dumbledore's turn to silently observe the Denarian in front of him. That was a surprising news, but not impossible. Aries might've formed connections during some point in his life. He didn't know much about the criminal underworld or the seedier parts of society but from what he had learned from Mundungus Fletcher, there were several dangerous individuals. Also, there might be a possibility that his "allies" weren't human at all...

"What would you have me do Dumbledore?" Aries asked him calmly. "I did clearly state that I would react with lethal force if threatened. I told you to warn your students from antagonizing me."

"The pureblood families are proud people, they will not back down." Said Dumbledore as he looked at him with serious blue eyes.

"And so am I." Aries snapped coldly as his eyes flared in anger. "Do you truly think that I, a Denarian and a host of a Fallen Angel, would bow down to lowly mortals like them?" He hissed angrily.

Dumbledore sighed tiredly and for a moment, looked as bit hundred and fifty years old as his age. "One side must give."

"Which won't be me." Aries gritted out. "They attacked me first, so they deserved whatever they got." He spat.

"Then how will you deal with this?" Dumbledore questioned him wearily. "I see disaster waiting to erupt from the scenarios I can imagine."

Aries shrugged nonchalantly. "Your problem, not mine." He answered flippantly.

Dumbledore's eyes flashed briefly in anger. "Innocents will suffer because of the choices you make and blood will flow." The old headmaster snapped.

Aries blinked as he looked at him. The normally unflappable headmaster, who was renowned for his inexhaustible patience and calm, was irritated.

"Were you expecting something from a demon?" Aries asked rhetorically. "Something like compassion, altruism, or general stupidity known to heroes?" The Denarian sneered sardonically.

Dumbledore seemed to actually glare at him before forcing himself to calm down. "Your latest stunt had gone too far." He said after few moments.

Aries scoffed with enough scorn that would've made Snape almost green with envy. "Wand-Wizards" He muttered derisively but Dumbledore heard it clearly. "Stupidest morons to ever grace the world."

"And then there is the fact that you're a Parslemouth." Dumbledore brought up the subject cautiously.

"What about it?" Aries asked with bored look.

"Was it truly necessary to use snakes to poison them?"

"Slytherins revere Parslemouth, so I decided to use it to my advantage."

"But-"

"You are ignoring the evidence that points toward them." Aries snapped as his own emerald eyes flashed in anger. "I swore an oath that I reserve the right to retaliate with lethal force if attacked, and so I did."

"Couldn't you have refrained yourself from injuring them severely?" Dumbledore said with disappointment as well as growing impatience. "Perhaps a stunner?"

Aries gave a harsh laughter at the mere suggestion. "Me? Use a stunner?" Aries laughed at the stoic face of Dumbledore. "Stunners are for the pussies and the weak." He sneered.

"You seem to have forgotten that this is school Mr. Angelos. Not a battlefield."

"Well, it sure feels like one with ambush and whatnot."

Dumbledore gave another sigh as he resisted the urge to palm his face. "In case you've forgotten," Aries stated coldly. "_they_ attacked me _first_, not me."

"And that justifies your actions?" Dumbledore asked with equal amount of coldness.

Aries rose up from his chair and glared at the icy blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore, the one man he personally knew who could win a fight against him. It galled him to admit that in a straight up battle between himself and Dumbledore, the old man would probably win, but he would make sure to give him a serious challenge, and perhaps serious injuries as a reminder. However, Aries knew that he was too much of a realist to let his own power and arrogance blind him to the fact. He didn't survive this long by being arrogant when he was fighting against the forces of the Darkness and Hell. Learning to swallow his own pride and arrogance was a bitter lesson, but an important lesson nonetheless learned through blood and pain.

Despite the fact that Dumbledore is stronger than him, Aries refused to yield. The air around them thickened from the intense output of magic generated by the two powerhouses in the office and the portraits, feeling the tension, recoiled into their frame.

"I feast on those who seek to subdue me." He hissed with deadly intent. "I didn't survive this long by letting others walk all over me."

Aries and Dumbledore glared at one another until the pressure slowly ceased.

"If tomorrow, the purebloods seek to subdue me, then I will show them what it means to cross a Denarian." Aries stated quietly at the unmoving Dumbledore. "I'll raise Hell and they _will_ learn to fear me."

With his message given, Aries leaned back and briskly strode toward the exit. When the door slammed shut, Dumbledore let out a tired sigh and slumped back onto his chair. Tomorrow, the fate of the British Wizarding World would be decided and Albus couldn't help but to feel that he should prepare for the eventual bloodbath.

.oOo.

The following day was tense and filled with rumors as many noticed the absence of Pureblood elites. For once, Slytherin table was lacking the usual boasting of Draco Malfoy or the usual Pureblood elites who often scorned at the Half-bloods and Mugglebornes. The rumor began to spread when a Ravenclaw named Terry Boot saw the missing purebloods in the Hospital Wing. From the look of it, they were rather heavily injured, if their cast and bandaged bodies were any indication. Furthermore, few more Ravenclaws who had Slytherin friends reported that there was a rather violent coup d'état yesterday afternoon by Angelos.

The Purebloods had apparently laid an ambush for Angelos but he ended up overpowering them before commanding snakes to bite them. Snakes! The very idea was frightening to the most: Aries Angelos was a Parslemouth. With his stance as a dark wizard and a Slytherin, his Parsletongue ability was the final evidence needed to cement his position as a dark and dangerous wizard to Hogwarts population. According to the "witnesses" he had ruthlessly tortured the Purebloods and critically injured two students.

The Great Hall was filled with chattering students as they discussed the newest piece of gossip while shooting stares at the slightly empty Slytherin table. It was made more obvious by the near deathly silence that presided over the House of Snakes. The remaining Purebloods were huddled more closely together and steadily avoided the glances thrown at them by the rest of the Hall.

The Gryffindor table was loud as usual and looked supremely pleased and serious at the same time. The hospitalized Purebloods were often the ones who fueled the house rivalries from the Slytherin side and made it point to antagonize pretty much everyone. Not to mention, it was an open secret that their parents were either convicted Death Eaters or "Imperiused" ones who bribed their way out of Azkaban. Without their antagonizing presence, the Hogwarts population seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

The Hufflepuffs were the ones who were most relieved at the absence of the Purebloods. Often seen as the "leftovers," the Puffs were the ones who were often at the receiving end of bullying by the Slytherins. They were jubilant by the fact that their main bullies finally got what they deserved, and scared, at the fact that Angelos just might prove to be even scarier than the purebloods. Aries Angelos, after all, was a Parslemouth in the House of Snakes and if he was anything to judge by, he was extremely powerful. In the span of few short weeks, he had dueled Albus Dumbledore, one of the most powerful wizard of the century, challenged terrifying Severus Greasy-Dungeon-Bat Snape's authority and got away without repercussion, and now, enacted a violent coup d'état in Slytherin and shattered the Purebloods' image of invincibility.

The Ravenclaws were once again stumped by the newest piece of puzzle. Aries Angelos was as enigmatic as ever and the more they found about him, even more questions popped up. The sheer audacity and power to overthrow Purebloods' hold over the Slytherin House definitely commanded high level of respect and even more so, when the said Purebloods were the heirs and heiresses of top echelons of magical society. Frustratingly, there was little or no information regarding Aries Angelos as there were almost no public records about him. Unlike most figures such as the Boys-Who-Lived or Albus Dumbledore, Aries Angelos was someone who recently came into public scrutiny and thus there were little they could find out about him.

And finally, the Slytherins were even more quiet than usual. The remaining population were conversing quietly with one another in hushed tone and steadily ignored the gaze thrown at them by the rest of Hogwarts. The few Mugglebornes and Half-bloods made sure to not attract any attention but couldn't help but to feel more relaxed without the constant oppressive atmosphere their Pureblood counterparts generated. Hopefully, Angelos wouldn't be as bad as his predecessors or this would be just calm before the storm. As for remaining Purebloods, they were either the ones who kept out of Slytherin House politics or far too unimportant to matter.

Far to the edge of the table, Daphne Greengrass kept her expression carefully blank as she sat with Tracey Davis and Blaise Zabini. Although nobody was showing it, she could detect a hint of relief and cheerfulness from the Mugglebornes and Half-bloods on the table. The remaining Purebloods lacked the usual air of arrogance around them and their eyes kept glancing toward the door of the Great Hall, no doubt awaiting for the arrival of now undisputed King of the Snakes.

"Can you pass me the toast Daph?" Tracey asked her in her usual cheerful mood.

Passing the toast to her friend, she turned to observe the thoughtful looking Blaise staring pensively at the plate in front of him. As usual, the brooding Italian boy betrayed nothing.

"Knut for your thoughts Blaise?" Daphne asked him softly.

Blaise Zabini raised his eyes to meet hers. He didn't answer immediately but shrugged nonetheless. "Just wondering where we'll go from here." He said in a solemn voice.

Daphne nodded in understanding while Tracey grew slightly more serious at the comment. So much had happened last night that all of them went to bed feeling numb. The following morning was just as hectic as they now had the time to process just what had happened. Ever since Aries Angelos had arrived to Hogwarts, it had been whirlwind of events. The shocking first confrontation, destruction of the Goblet of Fire, his unexpected sorting into Slytherin, attacking Snape, and now this... coup d'état.

She had never felt so scared in her life when she entered the Slytherin Common Room yesterday evening with Tracey and Blaise by her side. She had expected the Purebloods to target her as well and was quite confused when she saw some students from Durmstrang. She and her friends had decided to sit near the secluded corner to avoid drawing attention to themselves. However, when Aries Angelos entered as well, everything went to hell. Malfoy and rest of the Purebloods had launched an ambush against the enigmatic, raven haired boy with odds of fifteen against one.

But something totally unexpected happened.

Against all her expectations, Aries Angelos had overpowered them.

It wasn't even a battle, it was more of an one-sided slaughter.

She watched with awe and morbid interest as he brutally destroyed his opposition. His finesse, grace, and agility spoke of years of experience as he dodged and twirled around the spells while returning his own with even more power. He was quick on his feet and even quicker with his wands as he traded spells back and forth. The boy was obviously more powerful than she had initially expected. His skill in Dark Arts was the best she had seen and there was also that strange glyph he had drawn into air that shot lightning.

However, the event didn't reach its crescendo until he commanded the snakes with his Pasletongue ability. Parsletongue! Dear Merlin, hearing him command the snakes as he hissed at them was something she'll remember till her dying days. The last known Parslemouth had been the Dark Lord and here he was, another Parslemouth, speaking to snakes as a Slytherin. The hissing sounds he made gave her a frightening shiver down the spine and she had watched with shock and horror when the snakes bit the beaten and bound Purebloods on his command. Their hysterical sobs and choked gurgles haunted her nightmares that night.

While she had no love for them, it was still frightening. His sheer brutality, power, and overwhelming presence gave no doubt as to who the new king was. The reign of Purebloods was over, and his reign had just begun.

"Merlin, who would've thought that Angelos was a Parslemouth?" Tracey shivered slightly as she remembered the hissing sounds he made.

Daphne remained stoic but a hint of grimace crossed her feature. "Looks like he was correct when he said he belonged in Slytherin." She murmured.

"The Sorting Hat must've known it." Blaise said thoughtfully. "Otherwise, he wouldn't be in Slytherin."

"Even if he's not a Parslemouth, I doubt he would've been sorted into other houses." Daphne snorted.

"Yea, no kidding. He was ruthless and brutal for sure." Tracey grunted. "He may be biologically a Potter, but he's nothing like them."

"That's not just it, but it's the way he humiliated them." Said Daphne.

Blaise nodded in agreement. "He played the crowds to his advantage, ensuring the Purebloods' defeat and his dominance." He said as he analyzed the last night's event.

"So what do you think will happen now?" Tracey asked after a moment of thought.

"I don't know but I doubt that he supports Pureblood supremacy." Blaise commented with thoughtful frown.

"You do realize that they won't sit still right?" Daphne asked. "There is no way that they won't retaliate, not with amount of pride they have."

"Do you think the Purebloods will be able to take back their power?" Tracey asked with worried tone. As a half-blood, she lived her school life as a second-class citizen in Slytherin and had no desire to continue living like that. While she didn't know if Aries Angelos was worse than his predecessors, she was willing to risk betting on him.

Blaise and Daphne looked thoughtfully at their plates as they calculated the possibility. "I don't know for sure." Blaise began with a pensive look on his face. "While the Purebloods have the resources and the political power, Angelos has the raw power on his side."

"They could push for his arrest." Daphne suggested.

"That is probably likely to happen." Blaise agreed.

"Something tells me Angelos won't go quietly if that happens." Tracey murmured.

"You could always ask _him_." Blaise pointed out as he tilted his head toward the entrance of the Great Hall.

A sudden hush fell over the chattering students and the normally boisterous atmosphere vanished completely as the topic of Hogwarts' latest gossip stepped into the hall. As usual, Aries Angelos walked languidly to the Slytherin table despite the scrutiny of school population and didn't at all seemed bothered by them. The Slytherins seemed more agitated than usual and quite few of them flinched, only to breathe a sigh of relief as he passed by them to sit on his usual spot. The moment he sat down, the conversation started once more, although with slightly more strained atmosphere.

Suddenly a loud squeak came from the Slytherin table as a girl almost fell over from her seat. The eyes snapped to the silver and green table only to follow Slytherins' terrified gazes. There, sliding forth from the sleeves of Aries Angelos, was a great serpent as it lazily coiled in front of him. It had midnight scales as black as the night and golden gaze which sharply contrasted from its body and was as thick as a person's forearm.

Aries' cold emerald eyes swept across the hall, meeting many terrified looks the students gave him and his lips curled in an amused smirk.

_'Well looks like the cats out of the bag.'_ Meciel said amusedly at the horrified looks many people gave him. _'Or is it snakes out of the bag?'_

Aries snorted in amusement and drank an orange juice from his goblet. Some of the girls looked almost ready faint by the pale color of their skins. _'Well now I don't have to hear Nightfang bitching at me for being stuck in the room.'_ He thought back.

_'Speaking about the room, we should explore that new room you found behind the wall.' _Meciel suggested as he detected a hint of curiosity and eagerness. _'It looks like that only Parslemouth could enter it.'_

_'What do you think is in there?'_ Aries asked with just as much curiosity.

_'It could be anything valuable but I would probably guess books.'_ Meciel deduced while Aries hummed in speculation. _'From the textbooks, it's said that Salazar Slytherin was also a Parslemouth and he was known be rather paranoid. He might've left some books on Parslemagic.'_

_'Too bad I can't explore it for the entire day.'_ Aries grunted with a sigh. _'I got another meeting with Dumbledore this evening.'_

_'It's more important than you think, the Wand-Wizards could become your enemy.'_ Meciel cautioned.

_'Well then Ms. Know-It-All, you got any ideas how to prevent an oncoming bloodbath?' _Aries asked sarcastically.

Meciel gave mental equivalent of an eye roll. _'Whether you like it or not, they have lot of political power and resources to make your life annoying. Apologizing is out of option-'_

_'Damn straight! There is no way in hell that I would do that.'_

_'-and I doubt negotiations would work seeing as you literally screwed over their children,'_

_'What can I say? I'm just that good!'_

_'-so it only leaves intimidation.'_ Meciel finished while pointedly ignoring her host's interruptions. _'You have to scare them into believing that antagonizing you would end in a disaster for them.'_ She advised.

_'Which I'm perfectly capable of.'_ Aries countered. _'If they try anything, I'll be committing a genocide.'_

_'That actually might be taken quite literally. These Old Families have no doubt, lots of connections, and you'll find yourself facing nearly a third of entire magical population in Britain.'_ Meciel dryly pointed out. _'I assume you have a plan then?'_

_'Errr.. Somebody call an exterminator? Oh wait, I am the exterminator.'_

Meciel sighed exasperatedly. _'I'm surprised you managed to live this long in relatively one piece without any plans.' _She muttered.

_'What can I say? I'm just that good! My awesomeness knows no bounds!'_ Aries answered smugly. _'Besides I tend to make things up as I go along.'_

_'Well at least it's a good thing that at least one of us has a brain and comes up with plans.'_ Meciel retorted sarcastically.

_'Touché.'_ Aries rolled his eyes. _'Are you feeling ok Meciel? You're being bitchier than normal. Is it that time of the month? Or is menopause finally kicking in?'_

A sharp, burning pain in his head caused Aries to hiss in pain before it faded just as quickly, leaving the Denarian to rub his head slightly.

_'You know, I've reconsidered my generous offer to let you see me topless.'_ Meciel replied.

_'Geez Meciel, relax!'_ Aries exclaimed. _'You're a fucking immortal. I doubt you would experience menopause and would look as radiant as ever for all eternity.'_

_'Hmph.' _Meciel sniffed but Aries detected a hint of amusement and exasperated fondness from her.

Aries chuckled lightly and felt a soft smile lit his face as he gently ran his hand along Nightfang's scale, causing the snake to hiss slightly in pleasure much to the nervousness of the crowd. By the God, how he loved her. It was times like this that he truly felt at peace. Excitement coursed through his veins whenever he was in a fight or having sex, but he treasured banters like this just as much.

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he rose and made his way out of the Great Hall, he had a secret room to investigate and come up with a plan to deal with those pesky Wand-Wizards.

.oOo.

Aries let out a low whistle as he took in the magnificence of the room. After hissing _open_ in Parsletongue to the snake painting on the wall, the stone wall slid to open the room. The room was lit by soft luminous orbs of light that bathed the room and gave a greenish tint to it. A large, queen-sized bed was placed on the far side of the room with emerald and silver sheets.

Aries hummed as he ran his fingers along the true treasures of the room: the books. The book sheves was lined with rows of books and he instantly recognized their titles as books on Parslemagic. Turning his attention away from the shelves, he strode to the desk and saw one of the books was lying in the center. With flick of his wand, the dust settled on the desk disappeared and he gently took the book with his hand. It looked slightly thinner than most and opened it to the first page.

_Salazar Slytherin._

_'A journal.'_ Meciel breathed with excitement. _'By one of the Founders no less.'_

Eagerly flipping through the pages, he saw indeed, it was a journal. On the last page, he saw the last message Slytherin had left.

_They believe me to be dead but they do not know of this room nor the Chamber of Secrets I've built. My life force is slipping away and I can feel that I do not have much time left. My body, along with other three will be laid to rest beneath the castle and our blood will fuel the wards after we pass on. The other three do not realize how much danger they are risking by bringing in Mugglebornes as they are now. Many of them lack basic education and can't barely read anything, much less write, and have a belief ingrained into them by their parents that our gift is the mark of the deal with the Devil._

_I can't allow everything we have worked for to crumble by the enemies within. Perhaps the Muggles will change later on, but when? When will they change? After several years? Decades? Centuries? No, we do not have the luxury to wait that long and I will do what I can to insure our survival._

_And to you my nameless descendent, I can only hope that the world has changed for the better, but I doubt it. And thus, I leave everything I have onto you. If you are reading this, then it proves you are worthy enough to receive my legacy._

_Grow strong and may our enemies tremble at the name Slytherin._

_The Greatest of the Hogwarts' Four_

_Salazar Slytherin_

Aries closed the journal with a thoughtful look on his face. It was interesting to say the least, as the journal allowed a glimpse into the mind of the one who was credited of first establishing Pureblood supremacy and anti-Muggleborne movement.

_'Looks like the anti-Muggleborn movement wasn't entirely out of snobbish nonsense.'_ Meciel mused while Aries hummed in agreement.

"It seems that somewhere down the line, the fear and caution Slytherin emphasized mutated into Pureblood supremacy." He murmured.

_'How sad,'_ Meciel said without remorse_. 'but not unexpected. It's far too common for fear and distrust to degenerate into hatred. I have seen it far too many times.'_

With a shrug, he turned his attention back to the bookshelves once more. _'We still got time before the meeting on this evening. Might as well see what we've found.'_ Aries thought as Meciel stared at the books almost hungrily.

.oOo.

Stepping into the headmaster's office, Aries couldn't help but to narrow his eyes in displeasure as he finally saw his enemies face to face. Most of them were men but there were few women here and there as well. As he ran his eyes along the crowd, he saw that James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black and the man who greatly resembled Neville Longbottom was also in the office. By the look of things, he had walked into a middle of an arguement, a rather fierce one judging by the look of anger and red faces.

They were divided into two sides, one side with Potters, Black and Longbottom against the rest. Albus Dumbledore was sitting on his chair as usual but trying to control the meeting from degenerating into a fight. The look on their faces was almost enough to quell his annoyance at coming to this meeting.

"What do you mean this is all his fault? Your spawns are the ones who attacked him first!" James Potter snarled angrily at the familiar blonde haired man who looked like a woman.

"Are you saying _your_ spawn is completely innocent Potter?" The blondie sneered while Sirius Black growled at him distastefully. "You bastard son ended up seriously harming the heirs and heiresses of fourteen pureblooded families and wounded two of them critically."

"This is enough to warrant a blood feud Potter." A tall and gangly looking man with cold brown eyes snapped angrily.

"Gentlemen please do calm yourselves." Dumbledore tried to no avail.

Aries leaned back onto the door way and took in the chaos as he drank the sight before him. He felt his face split by a wide grin as he watched them argue back and forth throwing accusations and threats while Dumbledore tried desperately to not lose his cool.

_'This is so much better any soap dramas.'_ Aries thought smugly and Meciel laughed lightly.

"Mr. Angelos! Glad you could join us." Dumbledore called out above the sounds of argument.

Predictably, the adults stopped fighting, much to the Denarian's disappointment, and snapped their heads at his direction.

"Oh don't mind me, I'm just here to watch the human stupidity at its finest." Aries chuckled with a cheerful grin.

"Arrogant boy! Just like your worthless father!" The familiar, greasy form of Snape snarled angrily with spittle almost flying off.

"You! You are the brat who injured my son!" A stocky looking man with balding head snarled as he took a dangerous step toward him while raising his wand.

A loud bang of gunfire erupted followed by a shout from furious looking Dumbledore who let out a bright light from his wand. "ENOUGH!" He yelled.

When the light died down, the wizard who had his wand half raised and the others looked back at the wall behind him and saw that small part of it was chipped. Transferring their gaze to the raven haired boy, they saw that he was holding what few of them recognized as a muggle firearm.

"If we were in a real battle, you would've been dead with a bullet exploding from the back of your head and your brain would've decorated the wall behind you." Aries said languidly but his eyes shone coldly with malicious intent.

"You dare-"

The gun shifted to point at the one who raised his voice. "I don't give a flying fuck about who you are or your family or your self-righteous importance." Aries snapped.

"If you can put down the gun Mr. Angelos, and everyone could take a seat, then we could start this meeting." Dumbledore's cold voice broke the growing tension as the air became saturated with his magic.

The gathered wizards reluctantly did as he commanded. While the pureblooded families certainly didn't like the aged headmaster, he still held the title as one of the most powerful wizard of the century and his power was nothing to scoff at. When he got _serious_, people _obeyed_.

Aries gingerly sat down onto his chair in the middle while Potter, Black and Longbottom sat on one side of the office while the purebloods sat in the other side.

"As you may have heard, the reason for this meeting is because of the fight Mr. Angelos had gotten into with your children and I wish to resolve the matters peacefully without blowing out of proportion." Dumbledore stated curtly.

"What he did was more than just a fight _headmaster_." The blonde man sneered disdainfully as he glared at Aries. "He hospitalized all our children!" He retorted heatedly.

"Hey, I remember you! You are that retard from the Quidditch World Cup!" Aries exclaimed with an exaggerated snap of his fingers.

"What?"

"Mr. Angelos, are you telling me that you were at the Quidditch World Cup this summer and met Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked sharply.

"Uh huh, his moron of a son ran into me and started a fight." Aries snorted with a roll of his eyes. "What was your name again? I don't really bother to memorize the names of people I bash into the earth." He asked as he turned to look at the blonde haired man.

The man's face seemed to grow redder by each second until he erupted as predicted. "It's Mafoy. Lucius Malfoy!" He snarled in rare display of loss of his control.

"And I'm Bond. James Bond." Aries drawled haughtily as he lazily stretched out his legs.

As expected, the Purebloods didn't even understand the joke, although Lily Potter hastily covered her mouth to contain her giggle while Dumbledore's lips twitched upward.

"But anyway, you said your name was Lucius? That awfully sounds like Luscious doesn't it? Does that happen to be your stripper name?" Aries grinned cheekily at the Malfoy patriarch who was nearly frothing with rage heedless of the mortified look his audience gave him. "You _do_ look like a woman from afar you know..."

"You-you impudent brat!" Lucius exploded as he swiftly moved his hand to his wand.

Much faster than even many of them could react, Aries whipped out his ornate looking pistol again and pulled the trigger. Loud bang erupted from the end of the muzzle once again and the bullet whipped past Malfoy patriarch's cheek and shattered the window behind him. Lucius Malfoy stood frozen in motion with his wand halfway out from his robes while a thin trail of blood ran down his cheek where the bullet had grazed him.

"That was called a quick draw." Aries drawled in monotone. "It was developed during the time of American Frontier when the Amercian settlers began to move westward and is a popular sport among American gunslingers."

Although no one said a word, they all knew that given the force that had shattered the window behind Lucius Malfoy, Aries Angelos could've used the muggle firearm to easily kill him even before he had his wand out.

"Average human reaction time is around 0.2 to 0.25 seconds and most spells requires a second or two to cast and even longer for the spell to travel and hit the target depending on the distance." The Denarian stated with cold calm as his burning emerald eyes, which sharply differed from his ice cold mask, drilled into Lucius Malfoy. "Bullets, on the other hand, travel at nearly supersonic speed and the crack you've just heard was the breaking of the sound barrier."

Aries curled his lips in a cold smile. "And I assure you that _my_ reaction time is _much faster_ than average human's. Your life would end in an blink of an eye."

"Now, if the two of you would be kind to withdraw your weapons, it would be appreciated." Dumbledore said coldly as his magic whipped around him wildly before becoming tightly coiled. The two reluctantly put their weapons away although Malfoy was noticeably paler.

"I believe, Mr. Angelos, you were telling us that you've met Mr. Malfoy and his family at the World Cup?" Dumbledore asked when the weapons were put away.

Aries merely grunted in answer. "His kid ran into me." He grumbled sourly. "He was a rude one, and still is."

"Is this true Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked the blonde haired man.

"Watch your tongue insolent brat, I see you've yet to learn how to respect your betters." Lucius sneered at Aries while pointedly ignoring the aged headmaster.

"It is you who have yet to learn to respect your betters Malfoy." Aries sneered right back. "How are your balls by the way? I distinctively remember stomping on them quite hard after I dealt with your family."

Malfoy's face grew red once more in fury while Potters, Black and Longbottom gaped at him before sniggering, further angering the Malfoy patriarch.

"Are you telling me you've fought him and his family?" Dumbledore asked incredulously.

"Oh yeah, I sure did." Aries answered with proud grin. "In fact, I even took a little souvenir."

Reaching into his bottomless bag he carried around, Aries smoothly withdrew a familiar cane that Malfoy patriarch regularly carried around. Its silver snake head gleamed in the light and Aries twirled it around before holding his hand on its pommel.

"Remember this Malfoy?" The Denarian taunted amidst the incredulous gazes of his audience and their gawking. "It's _my_ pimp cane now."

"You filthy half-blood!" Malfoy roared as he jumped up from his seat while Aries cackled with laughter. "You would be wise to return my cane." He hissed dangerously.

"No, I don't think I will." Aries shot back with a cold smile once he had his laughter under control. "If you want it that bad, come try your luck. I'll be more than happy to stomp on your balls again."

Despite the severity of the situation, James Potter couldn't help but to smile widely as his lips nearly threatened to split his face apart. His son, granted they were rather estranged, was so damn cool. He had done what James never thought was possible. According to what Aries had said and judging by Malfoy's reaction, his son had fought the Malfoys during the World Cup and humiliated them. Not only did he win, _he had stomped on dear Lucy's balls_!Dear Merlin, on top of all that, he _stole_ Lucy's pimpcane and made it _his_!

Before he could control it, not that he wanted to, laughter fought its way past his lips and James found himself cackling with laughter as tears of mirth ran down his cheeks. From the sound of it, Sirius wasn't doing any better. He didn't care if it was definitely improper thing to do, especially in a setting like this, nor did he care that it wouldn't help the situation at all. All that mattered at this moment was that his son was officially a major badass!

He was so damn proud.

"James! Sirius! Control yourselves!" Dumbledore rebuked them but the Denarian could see that the aged headmaster was secretly laughing with them. His eyes were twinkling little too smugly and his beards kept twitching ever so lightly.

_'Damn Old Codger. I gotta admit, he's good at hiding it.'_ Aries thought.

Lucius Malfoy looked almost ready to blow a gasket with how red he was. In fact, it was so red that it almost matched Weasley's red hair.

"S-sorry headmaster." James snickered as he rubbed his aching stomach from laughing too hard.

"Can we get back to the topic if they are done laughing like children?" Lucius snapped angrily.

"Whatever Death Eater." Sirius snorted.

"Wait what did you say?" Aries asked as he locked his piercing emerald eyes on surprised looking Sirius.

"Uhhh, I said Death Eater." Sirius muttered uncomfortably as he fidgeted from the sharp look his godson was giving.

"Luscious here is a Death Eater?" Aries asked with a surprised blink.

"I was _'Imperiused'_ and the Wizengamot found me innocent!" Lucius snarled at the mention of his new nickname and accusation of being a Death Eater.

"Yeah and so did your friends Goyle and Crabbe, as well as Macnair and Rosier who said the same thing." Sirius sneered at him. "But look where they ended up, killed in Death Eater garments at the World Cup just so when Death Eaters attacked."

Lucius was about to retort with a scathing remark and Dumbledore was about to remind everyone, once again, to shut up when Aries Angelos gave a loud bark of laughter.

"Do you find something amusing Mr. Angelos?" Dumbledore asked him icily. All these hostilities in his office was beginning to irritate him despite him having to remind them to stop fighting again and again. Honestly, sometimes he didn't know if there were any differences between adults and children with the way they are acting...

"Oh man, they were your friends Lucy?" Aries asked with laughter in his eyes. "This is a small world."

"And what do you mean by that?" Lucius hissed.

"Well for one thing, I'm the one who killed those Death Eaters but I never knew they happened to be your friends." Aries answered with malicious grin. "Oops?"

Pandemonium erupted in the office as the purebloods began to shouting while drawing their wands and Potters, Black and Longbottom sat stunned at the news, at least until they too, rose up drawing their wands at purebloods. Before it could degenerate into all out battle, there was a flash of light before all wands were ripped from their owners' hands and clattered onto headmaster's desk.

"I HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" Dumbledore thundered as his magic whipped wildly around him in response to his anger. "UNTIL THIS MEETING IS OVER I'LL HOLD ONTO YOUR WANDS AND THERE WILL BE NO MORE FIGHTING!"

The gathered crowd cringed as one as they were forcibly reminded as to just how powerful Albus Dumbledore was. Also there was a fact that normally unflappable and always patient headmaster was angry enough to shout, which shocked many of them since they've never seen him lose his cool. Slowly, the magic dissipated and everyone found themselves back in their own seats. Aries forcibly relaxed his taut muscles as he stared at Dumbledore with grudging respect. For an old man, Dumbledore moved much faster than even skilled duelists and that was saying something.

"Mr. Angelos, do you freely admit you were the ones who killed those Death Eaters?" Albus asked with a hard voice.

"They were interrupting my vacation by throwing all those spells around." Aries retorted with a scowl.

"Boy! You will be tried by the Wizengamot for your crime!" A pureblood hissed at him angrily.

"For what? Killing Death Eaters?" James snapped. "In case you've forgotten, they were convicted posthumously after the World Cup."

Lucius seethed silently as he glared at the impudent brat. How dare he commit such atrocity! Fine upstanding citizens and respected bloods were spilled all because of this boy! Unfortunately, James Potter was correct when the murdered Purebloods were convicted posthumously. The Wizengamot, pushed by Potter, Black and Longbottom, convicted them as Death Eaters following the incident after the World Cup and stripped them of their family fortune after receiving a public outrage.

That damned Fudge was a sly politician despite all his foolishness and incompetence. The public demanded answers and retribution and thus, the decision was made to strip the families of their fortune.

Dumbledore looked at him with serious blue eyes. Things were just spiraling more and more out of control. Every time Aries Angelos was brought up to his office, he learned something entirely new or shocking that ended up changing the entire situation. He resisted the urge to sigh and tiredly rubbed his forehead to ward off the oncoming migraine.

"I think we are forgetting the fact why we are here." Dumbledore stated after a moment. "We have been getting side tracked."

Lucius scowled heavily at him and Aries. "I think it's clear what we must do headmaster. The boy will be arrested for assault and will be tried before the Wizengamot."

"Stop trying to push the blame onto my son Lucius." James hissed at him angrily. "It was clearly your son and his friends who attacked him first."

"I think it would be best if we saw the situation first hand." Dumbledore cut in coldly before another argument erupted.

With a flick of his wand, the Pensieve floated onto his desk before being gently lowered.

"If you will Mr. Angelos?" Dumbledore looked expectantly at him.

Pressing his wand to the side of his head, Aries closed his eyes and concentrated as he pulled out the memory of his fight and placed them onto the magical device. The headmaster swirled the memory around the pensieve before tapping his wand at the device. The runes that were invisible to the naked eyes till then flared up as the soft mists rose from them. The mists rose up to form a big rectangular shape and suddenly Aries found himself looking at the familiar scene before he entered the Slytherin Common Room.

"I didn't know pensieve could do that." Aries muttered.

"It's useful for allowing large number of people to view it at once." Dumbledore answered.

They watched as Aries enter the dorm and took in the surrounding as Hogwarts students lounged on the sofas while few Durmstrang students stood in the corner. Almost immediately, Aries had to duck and roll away just as the first curse was fired. More curses followed and the audience watched with wide eyes as the Denarian danced between the curses and return his own in kind.

They watched as Aries grab a pug faced girl, Pansy Parkinson, and use her as a human shield before savagely breaking her arm. They saw with anger, the purebloods, and horror when he literally blew up Atticus Carrow's arm, leaving only a bloodied stump. And they saw as Aries drew a strange glyph in the thin air, only to summon lightning from it.

James and Sirius watched with undisguised horror and awe as Aries perform incredible acrobatic feats to dodge the curses despite being outnumbered fifteen to one. They knew he was strong but never thought that they would see him in a middle of a fight. With their trained eyes, they saw that Aries was a veteran level fighter and was quite brutal as he was accurate. He didn't follow any known form of dueling and his movements were all random but deadly nonetheless. He didn't flinch when he used dark curses and the power behind his spells were undeniably ferocious as they tore through whatever shields the purebloods had conjured.

Then the climax of the battle: Aries' use of Parsletongue. The audience stiffened with horror at the sounds of hissing emanating from the Denarian as he commanded the snakes to inspire terror. Dumbledore watched with grim face when Aries commanded the snakes to bite the beaten and bound purebloods after humiliating them despite their begging.

The screen-like-projection faded away as the memory ended. The people in the room were noticeably paler whereas Aries looked on with a cold and satisfied smile on his face.

"As you can see, they were the ones who provoked me first." Aries began as his piercing emerald eyes shifted to pureblood section. "Kids these days need to learn not pick on someone who'll pick them right back."

"The memory could've been faked." A pretty looking blonde woman spoke out from next to Lucius but there was a noticeable tremor in her voice.

"If you don't believe me, then you are more than welcome to check on dozens of witnesses." Aries snorted contemptuously. "Not to mention the Durmstrang students who were there as well."

"You ordered those snakes to bite my son." Lucius hissed angrily as he clutched the arms of his chair tightly.

"And your son, along with Lestrange, set up an ambush for me." Aries drawled lazily. "By the way, I did mean it when I said I've fought better opponents when I was only thirteen."

The following hiss drowned out any form of argument when Lucius and other purebloods looked ready to explode. Turning their heads toward the source of noise, the eyes almost bugged out of their sockets at the sight of thick, midnight snake slowly slithered toward them. The snake slowly raised itself from the ground until it wrapped itself around the shoulder of Aries Angelos.

Giving them a cold smile, Aries hissed out Parsletongue in obvious greeting that caused many of them to flinch. It reminded them far too much of the Dark Lord and now Aries had a pet snake of his own just like him.

"This is Nightfang." Aries purred with sadistic smile as he introduced the snake to pale looking audience. The snake let out a hiss of pleasure as its owner stroke the scales. "He's been my familiar for several years now."

"When did you bring the snake?" James asked faintly as he stared at the midnight serpent. It looked so eerily like Voldemort's own pet, Nagini.

"I left him disillusioned when I walked in." Aries said with a shrug while giving the Purebloods a malicious smile.

"As you clearly saw from the memory, the Purebloods were the ones who attacked first, not me." Aries hissed with cold voice that was on the verge of slipping into Parsletongue. "And therefore, I defended myself and they paid the price. Warn your children to not antagonize me any further."

"Bu-But you have clearly attacked the heirs and heiresses of important families!"

"Which begs the question of _why_ they decided to attack in the first place." Aries snapped with cold glare.

Deciding to do another damage control before they argued once more, Dumbledore interjected. "As the memory proves, your sons and daughters antagonized him first and Aries defended himself." Dumbledore said curtly. "Therefore, I cannot punish him like you have wanted."

Lucius almost sputtered in outrage. "Are you telling me that you are going to let him off without any form of consequences?"

"Headmaster! You saw what he did! He injured his fellow students and this cannot be ignored!" Snape bellowed angrily as he pointed accusingly at Aries.

"There is little I can do Mr. Malfoy. Giving him detentions, docking house points, or even expelling him won't affect him as he doesn't want to be here." Dumbledore sighed heavily in response.

"Then I'll have him arrested and tossed into Azkaban!" Lucius yelled furiously.

Aries merely laughed contemptuously in response. "Do you really think mere Aurors could stand against me? In case you've forgotten, I was able to go toe to toe against Dumbledore here." He jerked toward the old man.

When other purebloods leaped onto their feet to curse him, their hands came up empty as they realized that they were disarmed by Dumbledore few minutes ago.

"May I remind you that this wouldn't have happened if your children didn't attack him first?" Dumbledore spoke harshly. "The Hogwarts' Charter clearly states that students have the right to defend themselves from physical violence if needed."

"If you continue to push for arrest of Mr. Angelos, then I would have no choice but to expel your children as well since _they_ are clearly a threat to other students." Dumbledore continued with cold voice.

Now that brought them short. Aries smirked as he realized what he had done. Dumbledore, the so called holy man of Wizarding World, was blackmailing them.

"And if you take this matter into Wizengamot, be assured that I will make it clear that your children were the antagonists." Frank Longbottom said in a clipped tone.

Aries chuckled as he stood up. The meeting was over and it was clear where the decision would go. "Regardless, the Ministry of Magic just doesn't have enough firepower to bring me down." He sneered at them coldly. "Not to mention, I've have several allies who owe me a favor."

"Unless you would like to tear apart your society for little old me, I suggest you back the _fuck_ off." He continued.

Without another word, Aries strode out of the office, leaving frothing Purebloods sputtering in rage.

.oOo.

Dumbledore sighed as he rubbed his head in sheer frustration. The meeting took much more effort from him than he had originally expected. After the last Pureblood had left, snarling in outrage, he had almost collapsed in his chair in relief and emotional exhaustion. He reached for his lemon drop but stopped as he frowned thoughtfully at the bowel. No, the lemon drops will not be able to calm his nerves tonight, he needed something stronger.

With a flick of his wand, he brought out the old firewhiskey bottle he kept in his cabinet for special occasions like this. If Minerva ever knew about it, she would never live it down...

The Purebloods had reluctantly back off, albeit furiously. They knew that even if the Wizengamot had convicted Aries Angelos, Potter, Black and Longbottom would raise enough stink about how their children were the ones responsible. Not to mention, they would be expelled from Hogwarts as result. If there is one thing the Purebloods cared about, it was their public image and they would do almost anything to maintain it, including swallowing their anger and indignation, if only temporarily.

There was also the matter of the fact that Aries Angelos wouldn't go down quietly if they sent Aurors. The memory had proven them just how strong he could be. Not even skilled a Hit-Wizard could've easily defeated the fifteen attacking students at the same time, especially considering the said students were taught dueling from young age as was customary for the Purebloods.

But the most convincing argument was the fact that Aries Angelos was a Parslemouth. His mannerism, the way he humiliated his opponents, and his use of snakes and Parsletongue to inspire fear was almost exactly same as Voldemort had done. They had no doubt experienced such horrors under Voldemort's reign and reminded him too much of their old master. It was the way he'd spoken calmly, coldly and methodically, with hint of underlying steel as he ruthlessly dominated his opponents despite being outnumbered with minimum effort. Making each and every one of them silently wondering if they were next to face his wrath.

Voldemort inspired mind-numbing terror in his opponents and Aries was almost exactly the same as him. It had no doubt, reminded them of how terrifying Voldemort was and in their eyes, Aries Angelos was on the fast track of becoming the next Dark Lord. He even had his own pet snake! Their sense of self-preservation forced them to back off for now at least.

Dumbledore couldn't help but to feel the sense of dread rising up inside him as he remembered Aries' memory. It was the final nail onto the coffin to prove that Aries Angelos and Tom Riddle were the mirror image of each other. The magical England wasn't in a shape for another Dark Lord. Voldemort had torn apart what little order that had remained after WWII and Gellert Grindelwald's rampage. If Aries was already this powerful at the age of fifteen, how strong would he be by the time he finished maturing?

No, he cannot let the Magical Britain to be destroyed. He had made a mistake when Riddle was at Hogwarts, he wouldn't make the same mistake again. He had to watch the Denarian closely to make sure he wouldn't become another Dark Lord. The only thing that had him from openly antagonizing the Denarian was his cold indifference. Whereas Tom Riddle's eyes had unquenchable thirst to dominate others, Aries Angelos' emerald eyes shone with cold apathy and utter indifference to the suffering around him. It wasn't exactly a comforting thought but he'd take what he can.

It was a good thing, Dumbledore tentatively decided, that the Denarian was obsessed with his own vengeance. His anger and fury toward the Order of Blackened Denarius was outside the realm of Wand-Wizards and he didn't seem all that interested in Wand-Wizarding World at the moment. It was so easy for hatred and malice to transform into underlying hunger for domination. At least Aries didn't go sprouting out Pureblood Supremacy like Voldemort did and perhaps the Carpenter girl would deter him from following the dark path.

* * *

**Author Note: Sorry about the long delay. The people's general reaction is rather difficult to write in detail and I hope I did a good job on it. If not, I'll have to go back later and edit it.**

**As for the quote "I feast on those who seek to subdue me." was originally "We feast on those who seek to subdue us." from the Addams Family. I thought it was rather appropriate phrase Aries would use.**


	18. The Heart's Desire and The Unforgivables

**The Heart's Desire and the Unforgivables**

Fear.

That was the prevalent emotion in the eyes of students whom Aries saw. They never tried to meet him in the eyes and always shifted them away from his studiously. The rumor had spread (no surprise there) that Aries Angelos had once again gotten away without a punishment even after his latest stunt. Of course, the fact that he didn't receive any punishment whatsoever only served to solidify his position as the new, undisputed King of Slytherin and the school's resident bad boy. Many students questioned how he was able to do so but none of them worked up the nerve to ask him or the professors about it. Frankly, the professors didn't look like they were going to answer, if at all.

The professors looked warily at him every time he entered their classes. Minerva McGonagall, in particular, looked almost she was going to breathe fire before her stern and stoic mask replaced it. She was noticeably colder toward him, not that it bothered the Denarian if his nonchalant and bored attitude was anything to judge by. Severus Snape looked almost ready to commit murder judging by how furious he turned every time he saw Aries Angelos. Thankfully, Aries never turned up for the Potions after that time when he smashed the greasy potion master's face onto the dungeon floor. It was a shame that such useful subject was wasted by that greasy git.

As expected, the students went out of their way to avoid him at all cost. If it were anyone else, they would've felt lonely by how everyone was avoiding him, but Aries, on the other hand, looked even more smug than usual. He had been strutting around and seemed to revel in the terror the student population had for him. Even the Weasley twins, the notorious pranksters, left him completely alone in fear of his retaliation. The Denarian had proven that he was something of an exception to the rules and didn't hesitate to use lethal force to retaliate when provoked. Just look at Snape and the Purebloods.

Although the students' fearful reactions amused him, Aries found that he wasn't paying much attention to it, or the classes. It's been few days since he had found that secret room in the Slytherin Common Room and the books left behind. Between the time spent eagerly devouring the contents of the books and copying the Marauders' Map he had "borrowed," he found that he couldn't bring himself to care about the school in general.

Parslemagic, as it turns out, focused generally on healing and warding. He had been a little disappointed at first but his disappointment quickly disappeared when Meciel pointed out how useful they could be.

Flashback

_"I thought I would be learning some new, awesome spells." Aries grumbled as he read the scribbled lines that wouldn't have made any sense to anyone reading it but a Parslemouth._

_'Not every magic have to be a destructive explosion to be useful Aries.' Meciel gently chided her host as she eagerly devoured the contents of the book. 'There will most assuredly come a time when you'll need to heal yourself during the crucial moments when the every second that passes by counts.'_

_Aries hummed thoughtfully as he mulled over her words. Although he healed at supernatural rate thanks to his status as a Denarian, having quick and handy healing spells might not so be bad after all. Injuries were always expected every time he fought against other Denarians and it might do well for him to know some high level healing spells that could heal the damages he body will sustain._

_'The wards are crucial as well, it'll give us more safety in our home and I have no doubt that they'll be quite useful to us.' Meciel murmured as she used her host's body to turn the page._

_-the Parslemagic has always excelled in the arts of healing. It allowed the Speakers to treat grievous wounds with much more ease compared to normal healing spells. I have witnessed miracles brought forth by the Speakers in India where Parslemagic was used to heal gruesome wounds and bring back the wounded from brink of the death. Which is one of the reason why Magical India has such high number of available soldiers compared to other nations. Their healers are reputed to be one of the finest on the land, and I must agree with that statement._

_The origin of Parslemagic, in regard to healing, seems to lie within the Greece where one of the earliest doctors, Asclepius, used his gift to heal his patients. Rumored to be a son of Apollo, the god of the sun, Asclepius was raised by Chiron, the centaur, who instructed him the ways of medicine and was found to be a prodigy in the field. His natural talent, combined with his Parslemagic, made him into a legendary doctor. It is recorded that non-venomous snakes were often used in healing rituals and these snakes eventually become the symbol of medicine..._

_"Well, isn't that interesting." Aries murmured._

_'It's ironic isn't it? That the so-called-Dark Magic is perhaps one of the most useful medical magic to have existed.' Meciel said with a snort of contempt at the foolishness of Wand-Wizards._

_Aries merely gave a long suffering sigh as an answer. While it was entertaining to watch the human stupidity at its finest, these Wands-Wizards took it to the whole another level. In fact, it occasionally was so stupid that it wasn't even funny. For not the first time, Aries wondered if there was some sort of magical disease that ate away the person's intellect and common sense. Being an inbred moron was one thing but the entire society? There something seriously wrong with the situation..._

End Flashback

_'I can feel my IQ dropping rapidly the more time I spend around them.'_ Aries thought gloomily.

_'It's a miracle in itself that the Wand-Wizarding world managed to survive so far.'_ Meciel thought amusedly. _'I wonder if it's only the British or the Wand-Wizards themselves..'_

"I seriously hope it's not the latter." Aries muttered darkly. "Otherwise, they'll have to arrest me on the account of mass genocide and crime against the humanity."

In soft flash of light, Meciel materialized in front of him as she sat on the desk.

_'Your very existence is a crime against the humanity.'_ Meciel replied in dry amusement. _'You are a human-turned-hellspawn who sold his soul to the Devil.'_

_'Correction. The last time I checked, I sold my soul to an unbelievably hot Archangel who fell from the Heaven because she was too sexy to be an angel.'_ Aries quipped back. _'She also happens to be my ultimate wet dream.'_

Through their mental connection, Aries felt Meciel pulse with amusement as her soft, tinkling laughter washed over him.

_'Keep that up and you just might get into my pants.'_ Meciel teased.

_'That's the whole point.'_ Aries thought back dryly.

_'I can see why Sephiria and Lara are so fond of you.' _Meciel said as her silver eyes twinkled with laughter.

"Oh please, that's just my animal magnetism." Aries shot back smugly. "And I'm also a Sex God who can give women earth-shattering orgasms. Care to try your luck?" Aries purred at her with smoky half-lidded eyes, combination which usually had women falling at his feet.

_'My darling Aries, you are several eons too young to try that on me.' _Meciel purred back in response as she ran her hand down from his hair to his jaw and to his chest. _'I think I already proved that back in the Diagon Alley this summer.'_

Aries rolled his eyes and pouted in annoyance. Meciel merely giggled at his pout.

Turning his attention from a former archangel, Aries closed the book his was reading on and stretched languidly like a cat after taking a nap. The contents of the books were definitely interesting, not to mention that they taught him far more than professors ever did. He decided to focus on warding until he was able to copy the Marauders' Map. With Parslemagic's natural affinity to healing and warding, he might be able to create an improved copy of the Map.

Nightfang uncurled from front of the fireplace where he was enjoying the heat and slithered toward the Denarian as he made his way toward the exit. As the stone door slid open, revealing the secret room Aries now used as his dorm, the conversation in the common room hushed as his fellow Slytherins carefully eyed him with wariness, especially the jet black serpent. Without giving a glance at them, the Denarian made his way out of the Slytherin Dungeon while the entrance to his room slid shut. Predictably, the Purebloods scowled at him as their glare burned onto him.

The injured Purebloods were released yesterday from the Hospital Wing except for the two critically injured students who were staying at the St. Mungos. Given their inbred moronic nature, Aries had expected some of them to immediately challenge him the moment they were released. Honestly, some of them never knew the meaning of subtlety, cunning, or self-preservation despite being a Slytherin. All they had were over-inflated egos which they liked to throw around. So far, they had kept their distance from him and didn't attempt to retake their position. However, they glared at him more than usual.

Deciding to deal with their childish temper tantrum and to remind who was at the top of social pecking order, Aries turned his head and met their glares with his own. The atmosphere in the room stilled as tensions began to rise when some Purebloods didn't back down from the Denarian's silent challenge. All around the room, the students stopped what they were doing and unconsciously fingered their wands in preparation just in case fight broke out again.

Aries gave them a cold smile as his fingers twitched in preparation for the fight, daring them to make the first move. The blonde haired boy, Malfoy, looked almost ready to draw his wand judging by how red his face was while a taller black haired boy next to him grabbed him by his sleeves and pulled him back down while shaking his head. It couldn't be helped that Aries was holding his newly designated pimp cane, which was like a slap in the face to Malfoy and an unforgivable insult. To his disappointment, the idiots who challenged him eventually looked away first while sneering at him to save a face. Giving them a condescending sneer of his own, Aries stalked out of the room while the stiff atmosphere relaxed once more. As the raven haired wizard disappeared, a pair of wintery blue eyes watched him go.

.oOo.

Daphne Greengrass knew that Aries Angelos was a trouble. Everywhere he went, he left behind chaos and upheaval, disrupting the careful plans that she and others had placed. As result of his actions, her initial plan for her future had been scrapped and thrown out the window. When she had owled her parents of the news, they were very intrigued and cautious of the boy. Their order had been to not draw his attention and if he was the "winning" side, form an alliance.

She could feel it within her bones that a change was coming, and Aries Angelos would be right in the middle of it. It was people like him who determined the course of history, those who hold incredible amount of power were the ones who had shaped their world.

Merlin and Morgana.

Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

Voldemort.

And she was willing to bet that Aries Angelos was the one for his generation.

She had been carefully observing him for some time now. Her power of observation had served her extremely well in the snake pit and allowed her to survive relatively unscathed. Yet, observing Aries Angelos yielded little to no results. He was still an enigma and undecided factor that nearly drove her up the wall in sheer frustration. Information was power and power was needed to protect oneself. Slytherin prized information nearly above all else. How could she formulate an effective plan if she didn't have any knowledge? Planning with unknown factors drastically increased the chance that it would blow up in one's face.

Which was why she discreetly rose from her spot and followed the raven haired boy after few minutes to not raise any suspicions. There was only so much she could learn about him by observing from afar and it was time to meet him face to face, And Fleur did ask her to pass on the message that she wanted to meet him... It was a perfect excuse for her and gave her the plausible deniability just in case.

Stepping out of the dungeon, she took a deep breath before concentrating on the subtle tracking charm she had place on him while he was in the glaring test with the Purebloods few minutes back. The magic pulled her to his direction and he seemed to be wandering down the hallway. She made her way in sedate pace but every time she got close to his position, he moved away.

Daphne pursed her lips in slight frustration. Can he just stay still? She was now walking on the third floor and it was the fourth time he had moved away. She briefly contemplated the idea of just hexing him and be done with it. She turned around a corner and frowned at the sight of deserted corridor. The charm signaled her that he should be close by but where-

Suddenly her body was snapped together and frozen in motion. As her mouth opened to let out a sound, nothing came out and she felt something pressed against the back of her neck.

"Don't. Move." Aries Angelos' cold voice spoke out from the behind.

Daphne's eyes widened. She was caught completely unaware with _Petrificus Totales_ and _Silencio_. Suddenly it made more sense, he wasn't moving around randomly, but to test whether she was following him or not.

"Why are you following me?" He asked in a tone that brooked no argument. The end of his wand dug into her skin to accentuate his point.

"I need to talk to you." Daphne replied in a hopefully steady tone once the _Silencio_ was taken off.

She felt a hand slither to her arm and take her wand from its holster, leaving her defenseless and her body become weightless as she was floated to a nearby abandoned classroom. Thousands of different thoughts passed through her mind and a spike of cold fear entered her but she squashed them down ruthlessly. He wouldn't do anything to her right?

She resisted the urge to gulp as she was lowered onto a chair. From her peripheral vision, she was Aries Angelos walk into her range of vision as he regarded her carefully. He sat down on a chair opposite from her and she noted that he was holding her wand. His emerald eyes were as cold and piercing as ever and every movement he made spoke of grace and danger. He radiated an aura of a predator. One that was at the top of the food chain. He was quite handsome with his aristocratic look but none of that mattered to her at the moment.

"I'm very good at picking apart truth from the lies." He commented idly as he deftly spun around his wand between his fingers.

Something hissed nearby and Daphne felt her body stiffen as midnight black serpent slithered into her view. It travelled up the chair and settled as it wrapped around the shoulder of the raven haired wizard.

"This is Nightfang, my familiar." Aries answered with shark-like smile at the fear and unease he saw in her eyes. "As a predator, he can hear the beating of your heart and the heat you generate from your body."

"Between the two of us, we can detect any lies." He finished with particularly cold smile. "So what do you want?"

"Is this how you treat a lady?" Daphne asked as she glared at him when he released her from the body bind.

"I don't care if you are a lady or not." He answered bluntly, throwing her off the balance. "Age and gender means nothing to me."

"There are certain things like decorum or etiquettes." She said with a scowl.

"Which means very little to me when someone decides to stalk me using a tracking charm." He countered dryly.

Daphne's eyes widened very briefly and Aries smirked in victory. "Did you really think I haven't felt the tracking charm placed on me back in the common room?" He asked mildly.

"Can I have my wand back?" She asked crossly.

"You're not in any position to make demands." He snorted.

"I had to talk to you." She answered after a moment.

"So you've said." He said with bored look. "So what do you want?"

It would not be advantageous for her to admit that she wanted to know more about him. By admitting she wanted information, he automatically held the advantage as he was the one who had the answers. Therefore, he could demand something in return, with higher price since she needed the information more than him.

"I'm a friend with Fleur Delacour. She wants to meet you and asked me to pass on the invitation." Said Daphne. Aries Angelos claimed that he was very good at spotting lies and his snake made it almost foolproof. However, Fleur did want to meet and asked her to pass on the message, so technically, it wasn't lie...

"Fleur Delacour." Aries muttered. "You mean the French Champion?"

Daphne merely nodded in answer.

He cocked his head ever-so-slightly as he regarded her in silence. Daphne resisted the urge to fidget when his piercing emerald eyes met her wintery blue ones. It was a different gaze from the ones most boys gave her, as they ran their eyes up and down her figure with disgusting leer. Aries Angelos, on the other hand, seemed to scrutinize her with unnatural intensity as if taking her entire being, looking through and beyond her. It was as if all her hopes, dreams, characteristics, and everything that made her who she is, were laid out before him.

The boys' scrutiny and ogling made her skin crawl with disgust. Angelos' scrutiny made her feel like a obscure puzzle that Unspeakables researched on.

"There is something else isn't it?" Aries said shrewdly. "I highly doubt you would've stalked me to _just_ to pass on the invitation."

Daphne cursed inwardly. Looks like Angelos was much sharper than she originally thought.

"You took Hogwarts by storm." She said with a shrug after deliberating on how to present herself without sounding far too curious. "No one knew that you existed but you were somehow chosen as a Champion of the tournament. In the short time you came to Hogwarts, you've dueled Dumbledore, was sorted into Slytherin despite being a Potter, defied Snape's authority, shattered Purebloods' hold on Slytherin and broke nearly a thousand year of tradition, and got away without any consequences whatsoever." She summarized.

"You're a Pureblood aren't you?" He asked as he mulled over what she said.

"Yes, and what of it?" She asked archly. "Just because I'm a Pureblood doesn't mean I associate with the ones you fought."

When he remained silent and quirked his eyebrow, she took it as a sign to explain more. "There are some Purebloods in our society, and in Slytherin, who prefers to keep out of the politics. The moment you are sorted into Slytherin, you are given three options: become a blood purist, be antagonized if you stand against it, or lie low and keep out of the house affairs. The ones you've fought are the most vocal of us." She said curtly.

"Or you could've smashed the thousand years of tradition and destroy all those who seek to harm you." Aries said wryly.

A small smile crossed her features before it disappeared just as quickly. "Yes, there is that." She agreed with slight amusement.

Aries hummed as he mulled over what she had said. "And I assume there are people other than Purebloods in Slytherin?"

"Majority of the students sorted into Slytherin are Purebloods but there are some Half-bloods and Muggleborns as well. They are generally bullied because of their blood status so they try to keep out of the house politics." She answered with distaste. In her opinion, all those unnecessary cruelty was absolutely stupid and pointless. There were times when cruelty was required but this was just ridiculous.

"And you are curious of how I'll react now that I'm on the top of social pecking order?" Aries asked with mild amusement.

Daphne didn't deign to respond and merely looked stoically back at him. Aries regarded her silently for few moments, assessing her and everything she had said.

"I don't care about blood purity or all those bullshits Purebloods go sprouting around." Aries said bluntly as he closely scrutinized her response. "I'll only be here until the tournament is over and I doubt I'd come back next year."

"You made a quite an impression on everyone's mind." Daphne said.

"People tend to judge each other based on first impression." Aries quipped dryly as Daphne's lips curled upward in a grudging smirk. "I tend to make a powerful impression on strangers."

"Indeed." Daphne snorted with wry amusement.

"I'm surprised that you got away without any repercussions despite all your stunts." The icy Slytherin commented as she tried subtlety to pry out more information.

Aries quirked his eyebrow and gave a small, amused smile at her attempt. He had admit, the girl was much better than the general population he was forced to deal with in this god forsaken castle. The fact that she was more physically attractive than majority of girls he met was a definite bonus.

"It's kind of hard to punish people when they don't want to be here." Aries decided to indulge her for a moment. She was definitely striking girl with silky, raven black hair and piercing, wintery blue eyes.

"Or generally not care about other people at all." Daphne muttered with an eye roll.

"There is that." Aries agreed with a smirk. "What's Dumbledore going to do? Take away house points? Issue detentions? Suspension? Expulsion? Like I care." Aries finished with a scoff.

"Not many people think like you do." Daphne said mildly.

"That's because they need Dumbledore and Hogwarts more than Hogwarts need them." Aries pointed out. "I, on the other hand, have no need for magical education provided in Hogwarts."

"It's a law for magical youth to attend magical schools to harness their power." Daphne pointed out.

"Not exactly." Said Aries with slight shake of his head. "The reason for it, is to harness and learn their powers. I already have good control over my magic and have no need for school."

"But wouldn't the Ministry track you down if you don't go?" She inquired.

"Only if I have underaged tracking monitor. The Ministry can track accidental magic in Muggle areas." Aries countered. "I got rid of that long ago. The Ministry have no way of tracking me."

"You removed the tracker?" She asked a little too sharply.

"Wouldn't you want to know?" Aries gave a challenging smirk.

Unfortunately, she didn't rise to the bait like he hoped."You seem to know lot about Dark Arts." Daphne mused as she changed the topic.

"What can I say? I'm just natural at it." Aries quipped with a mysterious smile.

_'That would be an understatement.'_ Meciel snorted with amusement.

"It takes of years of training and discipline to master Dark Arts like you did, and even then, the people have trouble resisting it." Daphne said shrewdly. "And there aren't that many people who are skilled in the subject like you are."

"Let's just say that my teacher was just out of this world." Aries answered with a bright smile as his eyes twinkled with enough twinkle to rival that of Albus Dumbledore. In his head, Meciel dissolved into sniggers. If only she knew...

He could feel that the girl was getting frustrated by his vague answers but did an admirable job of hiding her irritation. Daphne steeled herself as she pushed down her frustration as she assessed him with critical gaze. The answers he provided her rarely gave her anything useful other confirming what she already suspected and it was not likely that he'd reveal anything important. He was far too versed in the art of banter without revealing sensitive information.

"Well it's been interesting talking with you Angelos." Daphne said as she decided to finish the conversation.

"Likewise hot stuff." Aries quipped lightly with a smirk as she narrowed her eyes at the word "hot stuff."

He stood up from the chair he was sitting on and tossed her wand back. "Next time you want to speak to me, try not to use the tracking charm." Aries gave her one last parting shot as he moved toward the exit. "I already have several stalkers as it is." He grunted.

Daphne Greengrass scowled at his retreating back and contemplated whether to hex him or not. Before she could come up with a decision, he was already out the door.

.oOo.

_'Well that was interesting.'_ Meciel mused as Aries aimlessly wandered down the hall.

"Looks like not everyone agrees with the Purebloods." He hummed.

_'We could use this to our advantage.'_ The Fallen suggested as she analyzed the meeting. _'It would be useful to have some allies who have political connections.'_

"You mean minions?" Aries said dryly.

_'If you want to put it that way.' _Meciel chuckled.

"Well I _am_ a demon and a bad guy..." Aries trailed off. "I suppose I could train some of them into my loyal minions."

_'How original.'_ Meciel drawled.

"Hey what kind of self-respecting villain wouldn't have a minion or two?" Aries argued as he rolled his eyes. "Minions are like villain's trademark."

_'There are villains without minions you know...'_ Meciel said as he felt her pulse with amusement.

"They just make things more legitimate." Aries waved it away. "Besides, villains get kick out of watching the minions jump through hoops at their command."

_'I do wonder if there are any suitable minion candidates in this castle.'_ Meciel mused as her host rounded another corner. _'The track record for Wand-Wizards' mental capabilities are less than stellar so far.'_

Meciel did raise a good point. What's the point of having a minion if the said individual was far too much of a moron? Or lacking a common sense? Aries had seen several movies where villains had incompetent minions who ended up causing headaches for the mastermind. Movies might not always be the accurate source of information but it did correctly portray realistic headaches it would bring...

So far, these Wand-Wizards had manage to impress him with their stupidity to the point where he couldn't differentiate them much from Neanderthals or performance monkeys. If he did manage to acquire loyal minions, he'd probably start killing them within first few days in order to save his sanity, or his IQ for that matter...

"Perhaps I should look for Half-bloods or Muggleborns minions." Aries wondered out loud as he absently thought of Amanda Carpenter. Having a daughter of a Knight of the Cross at his back and call would definitely be something for him to brag about, especially with his status as a Denarian. He would certainly get a kick out of the irony. On the other hand, the girl did insist on coming to Hogwarts and _stay_ in this godforsaken castle when assassins were after her life...

_'That might not be a bad idea. They have more connection with the Muggle world and hopefully, be more logical and have a common sense.'_ Meciel commented. _'Unfortunately, they won't have the necessary political connection we may need. Purebloods are a lost cause anyway and I doubt they have enough neurons to rub together.'_

"And what of that Greengrass girl? She was definitely the first non-stupid Pureblood we've met." Aries pointed out.

_'That girl is indeed sharp and would make a fine minion with competence.' _Meciel conceded. _'But I doubt she would agree to it.'_

Putting the discussion and his half-formed plan to acquire minions to halt, Aries blinked as he stood before the rusted door. This was the same door he was standing in front of before he was interrupted by Benajmin Potter and his band of Gryffindor morons. Reaching out with his hand, he pushed it opened and strode into the room. There wasn't anything remarkable other than some odd odor and a trapdoor in the middle.

_'Wonder where this leads to.'_

Casting a quick _Lumos_ charm to light up the darkness, the Denarian dropped down the trapdoor. He didn't remember anything about this part of the castle.

_'Must be another secret corridor or something.'_

Filled with curiosity, Aries continued forward. There were some old and locked doors but it was nothing _Alohomora_ or in the case the charm didn't work, _Reducto_ curse couldn't handle. Finally, he came upon a large, round room. Standing in the center of the room was a mirror.

_'What is a mirror doing in a deserted room?'_

Stepping in front of the mirror, Aries expected to see his reflection, instead, he saw something else. An involuntary gasp of shock escaped his lips as he stared wildly into the mirror. It was an image of himself and it was moving.

His mirror self was a little older, somewhere in his late teens or early twenties judging by his slightly more mature look. He was lying lazily on the hammock on some tropical beach as it swayed gently from side to side while a cool shadow of the palm trees protected him from the burning glare of the Sun. However, what truly caught his attention was the lovely ladies that surrounded his current naked body on the hammock with him. Aries felt his eyes almost bug out of his skull when he realized the woman currently sucking his mirror self's cock was none other than Meciel, his Fallen Angel.

_'What- but how-' _Meciel sputtered in surprise.

Aries was too stunned with the porn provided by the mirror to pay attention to Meciel's sputtering, otherwise, he would've pointed out that it was his first time seeing the unflappable Fallen Angel being tongue-tied.

Meciel _never_ lost her composure.

Aries almost felt the drooled when the Meciel in mirror looked up from sucking his mirror-image's cock and gave a salacious grin at him. Beside her was the familiar figure with golden lock and unique amethyst eyes that belonged to one and only Sephiria Raith. The White Court Vampire was purring in pleasure as his image fondled with her breasts and her butt while pressing her entire body against his side. With one final lick, Meciel let go of his penis and moved on top of him. The immortal Fallen Angel looked over her shoulder and gave him a wink before sinking herself down on his mirror-image's cock.

"No fucking way." Aries muttered hoarsely as he leaned forward until his face was almost pressed against the mirror's surface. At that moment, he never wished anything harder than to sink into the mirror.

A white hot, burning feeling pierced through the haze of lust and Aries let out a hiss of pain at the sharp stinging pain it left on his head.

_'Focus Aries.'_ Meciel said sharply. _'The image isn't real. We need to figure out what this mirror is.'_

"Oh c'mon! We're just getting to the best part!" Aries whined as he stared hungrily at the image of Meciel bouncing up and down his penis. Her head was thrown back and she closed her eyes as if reveling in the pleasure of sex she was having and judging by the expression of pleasure on his mirror self's face, he was having a grand time of his life.

It was the hottest and the most beautiful image he had ever seen in his short but full life.

Lucky bastard.

_'What's up with males and their testosterone? Have sex in front of them and their entire mental facility shuts down.'_ Meciel grumbled as she wrestled the control of Aries' body much to her host's sputter of indignation and complaint.

_'What the fuck Meciel! I was watching that!' _Aries yelled angrily in the confines of his mind as the Fallen forced his body to take a step back from the mirror.

_'Stop thinking with your penis and start using your brain.'_ Meciel retorted sharply in response. _'You have been granted a brain for a reason.'_

Aries muttered darkly in response but didn't contradict her when she released her control over his body.

"Man that was the hottest thing I've ever seen." Aries sighed forlornly as he searched the mirror anywhere except its surface while studiously keeping his eyes away from the tantalizing porn it provided. He didn't think if he saw it again, he'd be able to resist looking at it.

Thankfully at the top of the mirror, he saw an inscription.

_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_

Aries frowned slightly as he read the gibberish before his expression cleared. The message was written backward.

_I show not your face but your heart's desire._

_'A mirror that shows not the reflection but the heart's desire.'_ Meciel whispered in wonder.

"I never knew such thing existed." Aries muttered in awe. He wasn't the type of person to be impressed easily but this so fucking cool.

Looking into the mirror once more, Aries almost gawked when his mirror self raised his head and winked at him as he smirked. Of course it didn't help that he was plunging his penis into Meciel and Sephiria alternatively while the immortal women's faces were twisted in rapture of pleasure. Raising his hand, he spanked their bums as he ploughed them from behind.

"Holy shit. I didn't know you could bend that way Meciel." Aries whispered in awe when her image showed some impressive gymnastic skill.

_'Figures that your greatest desire is to have sex with me.'_ Meciel sighed but there was a hint of underlying amusement.

"I never denied wanting to screw you senseless." Aries muttered while still transfixed by the free porn the mirror provided. And what a porn it was! It was a good thing that he was alone in the chamber, otherwise, he'd have to explain just why he was standing in front of the mirror with an awkward boner.

Hellfire burned in his veins as Meciel's overwhelming presence slid forward into his mind. Familiar scent of sulfur invaded his nose and he felt giddy with dark power and pleasure that accompanied her.

_'I wonder if it could show my desire...'_ Meciel mused curiously.

Before their combined curious gaze, the scene disappeared much to the Denarian's disappointment and another image flickered to life. The tropical beach vanished and changed into a hellish landscape with blood soaked ground. Bodies lay here and there with a small hill. Standing atop of the hill was Meciel, her silver and white dress untouched by the blood and fire raging around her. Beneath her feet were the corpses of people Aries didn't recognize but knew by his association with Meciel.

There were 2 that stood out from all the rest as Meciel's burning rage focused on them in particular. The first was a man of medium height and built with short dark hair with a blaze of silver. He wore tailored and expensive suit with a hangman's noose around his neck like a tie. He was lying on the ground before her with a broken Japanese katana sticking out of his chest, his eyes vacant and his face twisted into expression of fear and pain.

The second was a woman with sickly looking skin sporting faded splotches, old bruises and yellow eyes that were glazed by death. Her body seemed to be wasting away. Like the man, her face was twisted in expression of pain and terror.

Nicodemus Archleone.

Vesper.

The other two Denarian Lords and ones Meciel wanted to kill the most.

There were others as well. A short, pretty looking woman he somehow recognized as Polonius Lartessa, the host of Imariel and wife of Nicodemus. Old faces such as Balthrail and other Denarians he had killed as well as Deidre, whom he had killed nearly 6 years ago, was lying dead beneath Meciel, their blood soaking the ground. All of the Order of the Blackened Denarius lay dead at her feet while she held all 30 silver Denarius coins in her hand. Meciel's silver eyes seemed to burn with power and pure satisfaction while her seductive lips were twisted into a smug and sadistic smile.

She had achieved her near millennia old vengeance.

His head throbbed as Meciel's hatred and hunger raged throughout his mind and he couldn't help but to shiver slightly at the murderous intent his Fallen was giving off.

_**'One day, the vengeance will be mine.' **_Meciel promised with deathly intent as she stared hungrily at the image.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Aries closed his eyes and stepped back from the mirror. There was a flash of anger from Meciel before she reluctantly withdrew, much to his relief.

"This mirror, it's truly the embodiment of temptation." Aries muttered. "I wonder if it's a demonic artifact... It certainly fits the bills."

_'That is something to think about.'_ Meciel mused after she calmed down a bit. _'But what's something like this doing in Hogwarts?'_

"Don't know, but I wonder if I can take this..." Aries frowned speculatively. Artifact like this was extremely rare and he definitely wanted to study it, or better yet, make it _his_. He would have to look for ways to smuggle this out at the end of the year.

_'That is something to think about.'_ Meciel agreed.

Casting one last gaze at the image in the mirror, Aries hardened his eyes.

"One day, we'll make the image we saw into reality." Aries vowed. "No matter the price."

_'You have certainly come much farther than any of my previous hosts.'_ Meciel whispered. _'We came this far, I'm sure we'll make it through.'_

Twisting on his feet, Aries Angelos briskly strode away from the room and the enticing temptation of the Mirror of Erised. Many have fallen and became trapped in its illusion as their bodies wasted away, and only a few ever walked away from it unscathed.

Aries Angelos and Meciel, the Fallen Angel, was determined to bring about their hearts' desire into reality.

.oOo.

Days after the discovery of the Mirror of Erised, Aries still couldn't help but to constantly think of the image he saw. The way Meciel and Sephiria jumped up and down his penis was just far too tempting for him to _not_ think about it. Add to the growing sexual frustration, it's been a while since he had sex and it was making him rather cranky. The closest thing related to sex since he came to this castle was that run in he had with Amanda back in the third corridor floor.

As of right now, he was sitting in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class as he stared at the scarred DADA professor with bored look. Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the paranoid ex-Hit Wizard who was reputed to be one of the most dangerous man in Britain, seemed to glare at him whenever he thought the Denarian wasn't looking. Occasionally, Aries would feel some hostile intent or intense scrutiny from the man despite his well developed Occulemency shield. Yet his telepathy occasionally picked up the man's emotions.

There seemed to be something just off about the guy but Aries couldn't exactly figure out what it was. The impression he left back in Dumbledore's office the night he came to the castle still lingered in his mind. Moody definitely didn't trust him nor did he like him, but it went both ways.

Currently the class was writing down instructions on basic spells such as _Reducto_ curse and the like. Not for the first time, Aries wondered why Meciel insisted on coming to this class. There just wasn't anything he needed to learn from the class. He already knew more dark curses then veteran Aurors and have used them in the fight for his survival.

"Professor Moody?" One of the Slytherin raised his hand.

"Yes?" The man's magical eye spun around before landing on the student.

"I was wondering if you could show us the Unforgivable curse like you did with the 4th years..." He trailed off.

The class held with baited breath. Moody's lesson with the 4th years had apparently been a talk amongst the students for past few days.

"And why do you want to see it lad?" Moody asked gruffly.

"Well... I thought it would be a good idea to learn about it." The Slytherin said cautiously. "What with recent activities."

Aries hummed thoughtfully as he stared at the boy. _'Not bad, whatever this Unforgivable is, that boy seems like he wants to learn it. Looks like he does have some cunning after all...'_ He thought absently.

Moody didn't answer right away but he swept his eyes across the room, looking critically at the hopeful eyes of the students. Then his lips curled in an ugly smile but Aries personally thought it was more like baring his teeth.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody barked suddenly, causing the class to jump in fright.

"Alright lad, I suppose you do make a point there. What with dark wizards running around these days." The scarred defense professor grunted as he brought out a jar with a spider.

The class grew visibly excited at the prospect of learning whatever this Unforgivable thing was as Aries silently observed others.

"So - straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the 6th year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful."

Curiosity perked in Aries as he listened the grizzled man rambled on. Hopefully, what the man would teach them would be something useful to him.

"The Unforgivable Curses are some of the darkest magic in the world and using any one of them will land you in Azkaban for sure." Moody told them with a nasty grin that caused some students to flinch.

"Now who can tell me what the Unforgivables are?"

He pointed at a boy. "Imperius curse is one of them." The boy answered.

"Ah yes, the Imperius curse, it gave a lot of trouble for the Ministry during the last war." Moody muttered as he took out one of the spiders and set it on the desk. Pointing his wand, his face intense and his eyes gleaming, the scarred defense professor barked out the incantation.

_"Imperio!"_

The spider suddenly straightened and began to move its feet in complex pattern akin to a tap dance. Stretching out its legs, it twirled, jumped and moved its body in various acrobatic moves much to the amusement of the class as they burst out into laughter and whistles.

All except Moody, and Aries, who had a sardonic grin.

"Think it's funny, do you?" Moody growled as he glared at the students and the laughter instantly died down.

"The total and absolute control. I can make this spider do anything, I can make it jump out the window, drown itself or anything I desire." Moody spoke to them in deadly serious voice.

"Imperius curse gives the caster total control and if left on a person for too long, it can give permanent mental damage. During the last war, many witches and wizards were under this curse and caused untold amount of trouble for the Ministry to the point of collapsing."

In the Denarian's mind, Meciel shifted as she stared intently at the scene. _'This curse could be most useful.'_ She murmured. _'It'll make our lives much easier.'_

_'No kidding. I won't have to rely on Compulsion charms anymore and this opens up so many possibilities...'_ Aries thought back with excitement.

"With enough willpower, one can break free from this curse but it's rather difficult." Moody informed the silent class. "I'll be teaching you how to resist it later on."

"Now, who knows the another curse?"

"Cr-Cruciatus curse." One of the girl replied shakily.

Moody gave a grim smile and cast a _Engorgio _charm on the spider to make it bigger. Its body swelled until it was larger than a tarantula. Moody fixed both his eyes on the spider and snarled out.

_"Crucio!"_

Aries felt his eyes widen in surprise as he was suddenly slammed by waves of ecstatic pleasure. The feeling of bloodlust rose up inside him and his fingers curled as the urge to cause as much pain, destruction and death as possible sought to engulf his mind. It was these feelings that gave such powers to hell-spawns and the demons of furthest reaches of Nevernever. The spiders legs shuddered and its body jerked violently as if in intense pain. Although no sound emitted from it, Aries could almost hear its scream of pure agony as he leaned forward with wide, sadistic grin.

Moody raised his wand and the spider almost seemed to sag in utter exhaustion but continued to twitch occasionally.

"Cruciatus curse is perhaps one of the most sadistic curse ever invented." Moody said softly as he grimly surveyed the class, many of whom were frozen in horror. "It's the ultimate pain curse and you don't need any torture tools. The victim receives unimaginable pain and is known to be driven mad or insane if experience it too much, assuming you don't become a vegetable."

_'You must learn that curse beloved, I insist!' _Meciel whispered to him urgently with a touch of longing.

"Now, does anyone know the last?" Moody asked.

One of the boys slowly raised his hand. "Avada Kadevra." He whispered.

Moody gave a curt nod and pointed his wand at the still twitching spider with such intensity that Aries instinctively knew that the spider won't be surviving the next curse.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

There was a flash of blinding green light and the sound of something, vast and invisible rushing through the air. The sickly looking coil of green energy struck the spider and it instantly rolled onto its back. Dead.

Scent of death crept up his nose and the dark pleasure spiked up momentarily before vanishing. Aries swallowed heavily as he pushed down a shudder of pleasure and feeling of uncertainty. He had seen that green light once before. He dreamt about it occasionally back when he was living with the Dursleys. A cold, cruel laughter, woman's screaming, and then flash of intense green light accompanied by intense pain. After he became a Denarian, he had dragged out the near subconscious memory with Meciel's help and promptly buried it away.

"The killing curse. It's one of the foulest dark magic we know." Moody said calmly despite the horror struck students. "There is no blocking it, magical shields don't work against the Unforgivables."

Aries promptly filed away that information. Curses that can't be blocked, it sounded nice, and _very_ useful. These Unforgivables were definitely what he needed.

_'With your superhuman reflex, it would be easier for you to dodge these curses.' _Meciel commented_. 'The best way to block any attacks is to simply not be there.'_

_'That or simply toss something in the way.'_ Aries mused. _'Preferably something that's hard and can serve as a suitable, physical shield.'_

"The reason that Unforgivables are outlawed is because that in order to use these curses, you truly must want to cause a harm to another person."Moody explained. "Just shouting out the incantation doesn't work, I doubt I'd even get a nose bleed if any of you tried it on me."

_'I highly doubt that.'_ Aries thought dryly. _'I'm a sociopath and like killing things.'_

_'Yes, you are clearly in need of a help.'_ Meciel quipped.

_'Oh, shut up.'_ Aries grumbled.

When the class ended, Aries was one of the first out the door as he quickly walked to the direction of the library, he might have to sneak into the restricted section. By the balls of Jesus Christ, he was going to learn those curses one way or the other. In his short but fulfilling life, he had already broken so many laws that could land him in any jail with a life sentence, thrice.

So what if he was going to break another law? One more to his growing pile of law breaking records isn't going to matter... much.

.oOo.

Fleur Delacour couldn't help but to pace around in her room anxiously as she waited for the upcoming meeting. Daphne had come through for her and passed on the message to Aries Angelos stating that she wanted to meet him. The sunlight cast a soft golden hue to her room in the Beauxbaton's carriage and illuminated the sky blue color of the interior walls. It gave off such a calming aura but the quarter Veela couldn't find in herself to relax.

How long has it been since she envisioned the upcoming meeting? It felt like a life time ago when she was rescued by Aries from the slave traders. Naturally, like any victim suffering from trauma, she wanted to meet with her savior to thank him. However, the next time they meet, she promised herself, she wouldn't be a helpless little girl. Since then, she had come a long way and grew into a strong woman.

Fleur didn't particularly believe in fates but recently, she began to wonder if such thing existed. The boy had all but disappeared after he rescued her along with other women, never to be seen again. He had given her no name and revealed his face only for few moments. The likelihood of seeing him once again was very slim but she held onto the hope and it was granted. Not only did she meet him, he was a fellow Champion like her and the elder brother to a Boy-Who-Lived, the Potters' eldest child, and their missing son.

So many things were intertwined.

She met with Daphne few days earlier and thankfully, she and others had emerged from the confrontation between Purebloods and Aries Angelos unscathed. Then the icy Slytherin had proceeded to explain that not only had Aries slaughtered the Purebloods, he had seriously wounded 2 of them and took over Slytherin hierarchy.

A bloody coup d'état! Honestly, just what is wrong with Hogwarts and the British? Such violence and confrontation between students were strictly prohibited in Beauxbaton but Hogwarts seemed to be teeming with conflict. The school was a place where students were supposed to learn in safe environment but clearly, the British had failed in that aspect. At least, bullying was non-physical in Beauxbaton. Her classmates rarely tried to physically intimidate her, due to her excellent skill with wand and the few who tried were either suspended or expelled.

But back to Aries Angelos. Daphne had informed that she had already met and talked with him and promptly warned her that he was a dangerous boy and to be on her guard. Which was a fair warning considering his life story and behavior. Still, so many thoughts and questions popped up in her mind.

Would he be as weak-willed against her Allure like so many others? Like the people who looked down on magical creatures and thought Veela were nothing better than sex toys? He wouldn't try to rape her right?

The silvery blonde let out a sigh and composed herself. It was time to see just who Aries Angelos was.

A soft knock signaled that somebody was outside.

_"Come in."_ Fleur spoke.

When the door opened, Aries Angelos stood just outside with one of the boys standing slightly behind him. The Beauxbaton boy quickly averted his eyes from Fleur lest he got caught in the Allure and left, leaving the two to themselves. Aries entered slowly as he took in the room, his eyes flickering here and there much like he did back when he entered Dumbledore's office to explain himself.

Fleur stood to her full height to greet him. While he had matured, she could still tell that he was the same boy who saved her. His boyish face had since then, gained a sharp, and distinctively aristocratic look. High cheek bones with wide, almond shaped eyes and small upturned nose. His raven black hair was as messy as ever but not like a rat's nest like before. The top two buttons on his shirt was unbuttoned and allowed her to see oh-so-deliciously looking collar bones and a hint of chiseled chest. His slim build suggested hint of muscles underneath.

What truly alerted her senses was the way he carried himself. He didn't walk, he _stalked_. Fleur had trained herself in dueling to note a strong opponent when she saw one, and Aries was _definitely_ skilled. His movements were sharp and coordinated and he moved with liquid-like grace that normal people just didn't have. Most importantly, his eyes were as piercing as ever and was darker shade then before. There was a cold hardness in them that only certain people like veteran Aurors, or murders, had gained through killing.

Everything about him screamed a predator and her Veela senses immediately recognized a potential threat. No wonder had Daphne warned her to be on guard.

"Aries Angelos, eet'z good to finally meet you." Fleur spoke up.

His emerald eyes snapped to her own sapphire ones. He didn't immediately speak up but studied her silently. Fleur didn't look away but boldly stood her ground. He didn't ogle her like most males did, as the noticeable gleam of lust was absent in his eyes. After a moment, Aries inclined his head in a nod of respect.

"It's been a while since we met," Aries agreed. "since technically, we didn't formerly meet each other." He finished with a wry smile.

Fleur smiled slightly at his sense of humor. "Fleur Delacour. Pleased to meet you." Said the quarter Veela as she held out her hand.

"Aries Angelos." The Denarian introduced himself and shook her hand.

"Most people would kiss a lady's hand instead shaking it as a formal etiquette." Fleur said mildly.

"Most people would." Aries agreed. "But we both know that I'm not normal and there are two things wrong with that."

"Oh?"

"First, I'm not a gentleman." Aries said bluntly as Fleur quirked her eyebrow. "Nor do I care about it like most people do."

"And the second?"

"I highly doubt you'd like it when men kiss your hand, especially when they probably had drooled all over it." Aries finished mildly.

Fleur grimaced at the memory. His conjecture wasn't far off, men did drool over her hand under the pretense of kissing it. It wasn't pleasant and always gave her a shiver of disgust.

"How is it that you know such things?" She asked curiously as she guided them to a small table so they may sit.

The raven haired boy's lips quirked upward slightly. "I'm very good at observing people." He explained. "It's a useful skill to have if you want to survive."

At the mention of survival, Fleur grew solemn. "I asked you to come here because I wanted to zank you. Wiz'out your help, I'd have suffered a life of sexual abuse and slavery." She said as she swallowed heavily with a shiver of disgust and fear.

Staring at the emerald eyed boy, Fleur saw that he was staring at her silently. Eventually, he gave a shrug. "There is no use wondering what would've happened, especially if the alternate path was much darker than the life you have now." Aries said quietly.

This time, Fleur stayed silent.

"You are here now, alive and with your family." He continued. "This is the world you live in. This is your reality. The what-if only exists as your imagination and will remain that way."

Fleur gave a weak chuckle and took a deep breath to calm herself. "You 'ave a strange way to comfort others Mr. Angelos."

"Aries will do, and I'm not exactly good at comforting others." Aries said frankly. "Kindness and compassion weren't the qualities I needed growing up."

"I'm sorry about your past." Fleur whispered softly as she looked at him.

"Don't be." Came his surprising answer. At the surprised look the Veela gave him, Aries continued. "While my past sucked, it allowed to become who I am currently and I _like_ how I am right now."

Aries gave her a chilling smile. "The struggles I've faced made me powerful and I won't change that."

Looking into his piercing emerald eyes, Fleur couldn't find any regret.

"Iz it truly worth it?" She asked softly. "The trauma I've face made me stronger but iz power worth the price we've paid?"

Aries stared thoughtfully at her. Well, looks like the girl had some brains unlike the most population.

"That would depend on each person." Aries answered after a moment of thinking. "Some may argue it's not, but for people like me, it's worth it."

"Majority would zay it'z not."

"I'm a man with little or no regrets." He shrugged.

"Don't you ever suffer from nightmares?" She asked as she bowed her head, allowing soft silvery hair to drape over her. Even today, after nearly a decade later, she occasionally had nightmares from that traumatic experience.

"At first I did." Aries admitted much to her surprise. "But every time I get nightmares, I remember one thing that shatters them."

"What is it?"

"I remember that I butchered my tormentors." He gave a sadistic smile. "I destroyed them and remember what it feels like to have their warm blood on my hands, I remember their terrified screams as they begged for mercy and the nightmares disappear." Fleur swallowed heavily but other than that, didn't give much outward reaction.

Aries glanced at the girl and noticed her paling slightly. "You should try it sometimes, it's very therapeutic." He said with an amused smile.

"I-I'm not sure if I can." She murmured.

"You don't have to kill, you just have to experience the feeling of smashing your fear." Aries said calmly. "The feeling of conquering your fear is what'll give you the strength."

Fleur silently contemplated his words. Looking at him, she couldn't help but to feel a slight pang of respect and jealousy. Sure his method wasn't exactly right, and quite bloodthirsty, but despite all his hardships, he had emerged triumphant. He wasn't tied back by his trauma. At least not much.

"I wizh I could be as strong as you." She said with a solemn smile. "I waz so scared at the time when I waz kidnapped."

"How did you find me anyway?" Fleur asked the quiet boy.

"I didn't, I was actually looking for the money they had." Aries answered. "I didn't realize they were slave traders until I saw you and other women."

"And you rescued us."

"They were getting annoying and I had already killed their bosses." Aries shrugged. "Couldn't show the rest favoritism by letting them live."

Fleur snorted at his morbid sense of humor. "I wanted to z'ank you then but you disappeared rather quickly."

"I had butchered slave traders and wasn't in the mood to answer questions from the Aurors." Aries said dryly. "And I wasn't going to hand over the money I found."

"Not exactly a heroic quality is it?" Fleur quipped back.

"Lady, I'm no hero and frankly, I don't like being a hero since it's overrated and not worth it at all." He drawled. "Being a bad guy is lot more fun."

"Are you saying you are a villain?" She said mildly.

"Pretty much."

"You don't act like any villain I know." She said with an amused smile.

"What can I say? I'm one of a kind." Aries answered with a self-satisfied smirk.

Fleur gave a small chuckle. He was quite a fascinating person and the fact that he hasn't drooled at her was a proof of his strength. It was rather rare for a Veela to meet a man who can resist their Allure and they often spent their lives in Veela Sanctuaries to protect themselves. The best they could hope for was to marry someone who'll treat them with respect and it was common for the Veela to become nothing more than a trophy wife. Her mother was one of the rare Veelas who was able to marry for true love and Fleur was determined to prove herself as more than just a pretty face who'll eventually end up becoming nothing more than a trophy wife. As a being of passion, all Veelas craved for true love who'll become their life-long companion.

"I suppoze I can't argue with zat." She agreed. "Not many men can resist the Veela Allure."

"Then men you've met were all weaklings." Aries snorted. "Power isn't something everyone can wield and only a few has what it takes to wield them."

"And I assume you are one of the powerful men?" Fleur challenged.

"My life speaks for itself." Aries said with a smirk. "Besides, I've faced something stronger than Veela Allure when I was young."

Fleur blinked in surprise. "Something stronger than Veela Allure?"

"It's called Fae Glamours." Aries answered with as he thought of his journey into Nevernever all those years ago and his meeting with Maeve, the Winter Lady. "It works quite similarly with Veela Allure in that it creates a feeling of lust, but is much stronger."

"I've never heard of Fae Glamours." Fleur said skeptically.

"That's because it's not a common knowledge. Not many Wand-Wizards have heard of Faes."

"You mean the fairies?"

"They are nothing like fairies you know. They possess supernatural beauty like Veelas do but are much more devious and bloodthirsty." Aries answered as he thought back to Cessbulby. The cute little Fae was quite a psychopath despite her deceptively small appearance.

"Oh? Are you saying that they are prettier than Veelas?" Fleur playfully challenged him.

"Veelas aren't the only ones with supernatural beauty you know." Aries answered mildly although his lips did quirk up a bit. "I have travelled around the world and have seen many beautiful women, although I have to admit Veelas are quite high up in that list..."

"And how do you view Veelas, Aries?" Fleur asked the critical question. Far too many men thought a Veela was nothing better than a sex toy. "What do you see them as?"

"I don't particularly care about one's race or background." Aries answered bluntly. "All I care about is the result. As long as you can get me the result I want, I could care less if you're a Veela, Vampire, Fae, or serial murderer..."

"Not many people think like you do." She pointed out.

"No they don't." He agreed. "But I'm different from them and frankly, I'm very pragmatic when it comes to results."

"Are you zaying that ze end justify the means?" Fleur asked curiously. It was a very long time since she had been able to have an intelligent discussion. Men simply drooled and rarely paid attention to what she was saying and women looked at her with scorn. It was refreshing experience and she couldn't help but to enjoy talking with him.

"Far too many people are focused on how things are done these days." He snorted scornfully, making no attempt to sugarcoat his words. "Result is what we live with and what shapes our lives, not the method."

"Ze society often declares such thoughts as evil." She pointed out as she leaned forward and gave a brief flash of her tantalizing cleavage. Whenever she did this, men _very_ quickly lost their train of thought and she wanted to test how far the raven haired boy could resist her charms. So little by little, she began to loosen her control on her Allure and allowed it to flow freely to him.

Aries' eyes briefly flickered to her cleavage but didn't give any signs other than give a slight smile of amusement. "Fools set the rules in this world." Aries said as he spread out his arms. "Just take a look around. It's undeniable."

Fleur contemplated his answer as she stared at him with increasing respect. Here was a man who wasn't afraid to voice his thoughts nor offend others if his callous attitude was anything to judge by. Not to mention, he's still resisting her Allure.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want me to become a drooling husk." Aries' dry voice cut through her thoughts, causing her to sharply look up, only to meet his amused eyes.

Heat suffused her cheeks as she realized that she had been subconsciously loosening more and more control over her Allure and was directing at the emerald eyed boy sitting in front of her.

"You can sense it?" Fleur asked as she forced her embarrassment down.

"When you become powerful enough, you can sense the magic around yourself." Aries said with a smirk.

"And how far can you resist the Allure?" Fleur asked curiously. No one has ever come this far and she was directing it entirely on him, however, he still remained as same as ever.

"Why don't you find out?" Aries gave her a challenging grin.

Steadily, she began to focus more of her Allure toward Aries until she had pushed the Allure to its maximum output.

"Ahh, that feels better." Aries stretched lazily as he leaned back on his chair while Fleur's Veela Allure washed over him. Fae Glamour always gave him a hazy feeling of pleasure and the Veela Allure was no different. He looked at her with his half-lidded eyes. "Not bad Fleur, not bad at all. But I've seen better." He gave her a cheeky grin.

Fleur, for her part, sat completely still as she stared at him with wide eyes. Finding men resistant to Veela Allure was rare, but it was even rarer to find a man who was able to completely resist a Veela Allure at its full power. Only explanation for such feat was by having incredibly powerful mind, or be completely in love. She had only met two men who were able to resist her Allure at its full power, one was her father and another was a kind old man whom she had met briefly who was very much in love with his wife.

And now, she had found another person who could resist her charm.

Aries Angelos.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Aries smirked at the stunned expression on the Veela's face.

"O-'ow?" She stuttered in amazement.

"I'm just that awesome." He drawled lazily. "You're very good at giving out heat, but can _you_ take the heat?" Aries challenged as leaned forward suddenly as his magic suddenly exploded outward from its tight confines.

A strangled gasp caught in her throat as Fleur felt Aries' magic rise up and bat away her own. His emerald eyes flashed with power and began to glow eerily with their own light. He slowly stood up and made his way around the table they were sitting at while Fleur staggered back from the sheer potency of power the raven haired boy generated. Each time Aries took a step forward, Fleur took a step back until her back collided against the wall. Her eyes widened in fear when he reached out with his hand and hastily tried to bring out her wand. Instead of an attack she was expecting, she felt a gentle poke on her forehead as Aries fingers made contact with her skin.

"Wha-"

The world seemed to explode around her and then she felt it. Beneath the wild and frightening power, Aries' magic thrummed with shadowy darkness and fiery, intoxicating pleasure. Veelas were creatures of fire and she could feel that there was definitely something fire-oriented in his magic. It was unmistakable dark and overwhelming, as haze of lust and pleasure descended on her mind. It was like a tiniest drop of sweetest honey, a tiny morsel of juiciest meat, and she wanted more. Her magic, fueled by her hunger, latched onto his and the two magic began to intertwine as they thrummed together.

As she felt herself felt drown in his magic, Fleur felt that she could accomplish anything. With this power, she could obliterate anything or anyone. She would be invincible.

Then Aries withdrew his fingers and his magic subsided as it steadily returned to its calm state. Her legs, unable to support her weight any longer, collapsed beneath her and she slid down the walls as she panted heavily as if she had just ran a marathon. Her Veela Allure still pulsed wildly much like its host's state and Fleur could feel her dormant Veela side begging to be released by the stimulus she just had received.

"Intoxicating isn't it?" A raspy tenor voice purred, soft but stern. With difficulty, Fleur raised her head as silvery blonde hair fell around her like a starlight. Aries' emerald eyes burned with intensity as they regarded carefully. Beneath the pools of emerald, there was that hint of intoxicating rush of power and she could help but to drown deeper and deeper. Unable to hold on any longer, Fleur felt her Veela side rush forward as she tackled the boy in front of her.

Giving the stunned boy no time to recuperate, Fleur straddled his hip and slammed her lips onto his in a raw, passionate kiss as she ripped his shirt open. She vaguely registered the buttons fling off but was far too distracted by the kiss to care. He seemed to be surprised for a moment before he kissed back with searing passion, making her moan in pleasure. Merlin, he knew how to kiss as she felt her entire body go ablaze with lust.

Her Veela sided demanded that she claim him as soon as possible, preferably now. The first trait Veelas looked for in a mate was the man's mental strength and Aries had passed with flying colors as he easily batted away her Allure even at its full strength. Through the course of their conversation, he had impressed her with his strength, intellect and dry sense of humor. However, the most compelling factor was the taste of his magic. It was powerful, raw and intoxicating that the Veela in her demanded more of it.

His arm snaked around her waist and the other roughly fondled her impressive bust as she grinded her crotch against his. It was then she realized that her panties were rather soaked with her arousal when she had experienced the taste of his magic. With an impatient growl, Aries ripped her shirt in half just as she had done to his moments ago and flipped them over so he could be on top. Fleur hungrily ran her hands through his body, marveling at his muscled chest and torso.

In her mind, her human side was fighting a losing battle as it sought to wrest control from her Veela half. She was Fleur Delacour! Beauxbaton's champion and daughter of Sebastian Delacour, the Head of the Department of Foreign Affairs! Not a lust filled maiden nor a cheap slut! She didn't have sex on her first date much less just a conversation!

Throwing all her power behind her human mind, she pushed down her inner Veela with great difficulty and flipped them over again so she may be on top. She grabbed Aries' hands and slammed them down on the ground as she panted for breath.

"Ar-Aries, stop!" She gasped out as her silvery blonde hair draped over them.

At once, Aries grew still but his breath tickled her ear, sending pleasurable jolts down her spine each time.

"What is it?" He rumbled after a moment.

"We need to stop." Fleur said as her chest heaved with each breath she took, giving Aries tantalizing motion of her breasts.

"You were the one who jumped me first." He said dryly when she finally lifted her head to look him in the eyes.

Fleur felt her cheeks flush with heat while Aries chuckled beneath her. "I'm not a girl who spreads her legs on a first date Aries." She huffed as she ignored his amused stare.

Pushing himself up, Aries freed his hands from the quarter Veela and slowly travelled them up her legs as she swallowed heavily. "Is that so?" He whispered huskily next to her ear. "Your panty suggests otherwise."

Fleur never felt so embarrassed in her life and gasped when he grinded her hips against him, allowing her to feel the bulge in his pants. "But if that's what you want..." He trailed off as he swiftly picked her up in bridal style much to her surprise.

Crossing the now messy room, Aries gently laid her on the bed before beginning to repair the mess their magic had created. During their wild bout of passion, their magic had flared and caused a havoc in her room.

"Aries." Fleur said softly. "Can we... just talk for now?"

"And what is it that you want to talk about?" Aries murmured as he reached out with his hand to brush away her silvery blonde hair and tuck it behind her ear.

Instead of answering, she pulled him down onto the bed with her. Fleur felt his chest rumble as he growled when she gently traced her fingers along his chest, arms and torso. Here and there, she paused occasionally as she encountered scars, testament of the harsh life Aries had lived.

"Where did you get ze scars?"

Looking deeply into quarter Veela's inquisitive sapphire eyes, Aries couldn't help but to sigh inwardly. After this was over, he _definitely_ had to find some ways to relieve himself. Lying on a bed half naked, with equally half naked Veela, but unable to do anything was just too torturous.

"It's a long story."

"We've got time."

A devious gleam entered his eyes. He was sitting here half naked,with equally half naked Veela, he might as well make her feel horny while at it. Reaching out with his hands, he slowly dragged them across her skin until he began to massage her muscles. Fleur bit her lips as she fought the urge to moan as he worked magic on her body. Aries smiled at her wide eyed expression as he used the subtle trick he had picked on. By channeling his magic through his hands, he could use it to amplify the soothing feeling his fingers produced, helping reach deeper into the tissue.

It also helped that one of Meciel's previous hosts worked at a massage pallor, giving the Fallen an intimate knowledge of the location of nerve clusters and how to give _really_ good massages. Meciel claimed that it was extremely useful in carrying out assassinations as striking at these sensitive and vulnerable spots left the victims quickly incapacitated.

He lifted her foot into the air and used his entire hand to knead her heel, forcing his magic into his hand as he worked. Almost reluctantly, Fleur felt a treacherous moan escape her mouth at the message she was getting. The part Veela felt like losing her mind as Aries continue to work his magic. This was not what she had been expecting. She thought of a soft massage, perhaps a little clumsy, but this was just heavenly. With each knead he gave, she could feel his magic reach deeper into her tissue and her Veela side purred in pleasure.

To distract herself, Fleur quickly traced a scar on his forearm. "Where did you get zis?"

"I got that from a knife fight during my time out on the streets." Aries said as he gave a gentle kiss on her calf, making her flush at the feel of his lips. "Some older kids thought they could take my foods away and jumped me five against one, except I ended up beating them up and took _their_ food away." He ended with a dark chuckle.

Fleur swallowed heavily and her breath came out in heavy pants as his hands slowly moved from outermost part of her body to her more intimate places. His fingers began to kneed the sides and bottom of her breast and he knew that she was getting aroused very quickly. Fleur knew that her panties were soaked and her nipples felt like pebbles, straining against the fabric of her bra every time she moaned, only making the sensation stronger. His magic hands seemed to send sparks of pleasure right into her body, travelling toward her groin, making her pussy heat up and forcing her to consciously resist rubbing her thighs together.

When she felt strong hands work on her thighs, she bit her lips as calloused palm teasingly brushed all the way to her nether lips only to move away. She groaned in frustration as she bucked her hips whenever Aries moved his hand toward her soaked core only to move it away at the last second, forcing her to stay constantly in the state of heightened arousal.

"Ari-Aries, stop teasing me." She panted out as she let out a strangled moan at another teasing brush from him.

"Stop what?" Aries' eyes twinkled deviously at the obviously flushed, frustrated, and aroused Veela. "I'm just giving you a massage and judging by your reaction, you seem to like it."

Fleur gave him a weak glare in response. "I don't 'ave sex on a first date monsieur Angelos." She panted as she held onto her decision.

He grinned lecherously and licked his way up her neck until he was softly breathing next to her ear. "Just think of this as an appetizer of what's to come." He whispered huskily, causing Fleur to swallow heavily.

Deciding to end his teasing, he slipped in two fingers into her slick sex and roughly rubbed her sensitive clit while channeling his magic directly into her wet pussy. His fingers curled in 'come hither' motion and Fleur cried out as her entire body shook from the wave of pleasure after wave as she arched her back. Stars exploded behind her closed eyes and her hips bucked uncontrollably. After what felt like an eternity for the young Veela, Fleur slowly, but steadily came down from her orgasmic bliss and creaked her eyes open with incredible effort.

Aries' eyes were shining brightly and she couldn't help but to shiver at the intense lust she found. "Enjoyed that did you?" He purred before removing his fingers and licking them clean.

"I look forward to our next meeting Fleur Delacour." He chuckled.

With one last searing kiss, he stood up and quietly slipped out of the room. Leaving near catatonic Veela in his awake. Unable to remove herself from the bed, Fleur struggled to remain conscious but quickly fell into blissful sleep.

.oOo.

_"Imperio!"_

Aries watched intently as Mad-Eye Moody cast the Unforgivable on student after student. He couldn't help but to laugh out loud at the ridiculous acts they were forced to do. So far, he had seen animal imitation, tap dance and flamingo, gymnastics, and other humiliating stuff that people wouldn't normally do in front of others. Now if only Moody could have the girls do strip dance...but somehow, Aries doubted that would happen.

_'I must say this is quite amusing.' _Meciel murmured.

_'Of course it is.'_ Aries sniggered out loud as he watched another student did a ballerina dance. _'Watching them realize they're nothing but a puppet dancing on your string is always funny.'_

Moody glowered at the laughing class and the laughter quickly died down when he whirled to faced them with a snarl. "It takes tremendous amount of willpower to resist the Imperius curse and I doubt any of you has what it takes!"

After a glare, he turned back to the list of names. "Jonathan Martinez." He called out.

The said boy gulped before making his way toward the front of the classroom. When Moody cast the Imperius curse, he began to act like a squirrel and a dog much to the Denarian's amusement that he cackled with laughter. Every pair of eyes swung to him but Aries ignored them easily as he continued to laugh despite growing scowl on Moody's face.

"Something funny Angelos?" The scarred man asked quietly.

Instead of answering, Aries continued to laugh and pointed at the boy who was now twirling around in one foot while singing the national anthem. With a growl, Moody cancelled the spell and the boy quickly shuffled to his seat while his cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"You think this is funny do you?" He said in a deathly tone. "Why don't you come up here and try it?"

Chuckling as his laughter died down, Aries smiled coldly at him. "Is that a challenge?"

The class seemed to suck in a gasp at his bold attitude. "You seem to believe that you're better than them, so why don't you prove it?" Moody glowered at him.

With a condescending sneer, Aries stood up and made his way toward the front. "I _am_ better than them." He said arrogantly. "This castle is full of idiots." He scoffed.

_'You seem to have a way with pissing off the people.' _Meciel said with a chuckle.

_'I have a PhD. degree on the art of insulting and am fully certified in the art of sarcasm as well.'_ Aries quipped.

The class looked eagerly at them, wondering how the school's bad boy and recently crowned Slytherin king would fare against Moody's curse. Quite many of them leaned forward with hopeful expression that he'd fail like rest of them did and also make him eat his arrogant words.

Moody's magical eye snapped its focus on him as he slowly pointed his wand at the Denarian.

_"Imperio!"_

Aries blinked as he felt a tendril of magic brushed against his Occulemency shield. It seemed to be looking for a way in and slightly curious, Aries allowed his mental shield to fall. Almost instantly, he felt a sense of euphoria wash over him as if he was floating on a cloud, soothing away all his worry and leaving behind a vague and untraceable happiness. However the feeling only last a millisecond before Meciel reared up in his head. Smell of sulfur invaded his nose and he felt the familiar dark power burn through his veins as the Fallen banished the mental intruder with a snarl of her ancient fury. The Hellfire shattered the Moody's Imperius curse and thrust the invader out of his mind with powerful mental backlash.

Moody gasped in pain and surprise as he felt his curse shatter and flew across the room from the mental backlash he received. He crashed through his desk and there was an audible crack as he smashed against the wall on the other side of the classroom. The students remained frozen in their seats as they watched Aries chuckle coldly as he stood over Moody's unconscious form with wide eyes.

"How disappointing." He snorted derisively.

With a flick of his wand, Moody was brought back into consciousness. For a moment, he blinked groggily before he sprang into action that belied his old age and wooden leg. His wand blurred as he shot a curse at Aries who was looming over him. The Denarian moved even faster as he twisted his body to avoid the curse at point black range and batted away Moody's wand, preventing him from cursing him the second time.

Students scrambled underneath their desk to avoid the stray curse as Aries grabbed Moody's wand arm and twisted it behind his back while he swept out his legs underneath. The DADA professor landed on a ground with a grunt and found the wand aimed directly between his eyes.

"Dead." Aries smiled coldly. "Although I'm surprised that you managed to act so quickly."

Moody glared up at him before barking out a laughter. "Angelos that was the best defense against the Imperius curse I've ever seen." His lips curled up in a approving smile. "Although I'd prefer if you didn't loom over me when I awoke, I thought you were a threat."

Aries shrugged and stepped back, allowing Moody to rise. "See that class, that is how you resist the Imperius curse." He said as the students got back up from beneath the desk.

Aries smirked arrogantly at the glower he received from the students, mostly males who had been hoping that he failed.

By the end of the class, there was a mass stampede of students toward the exit.

And by the end of the day, the word had gotten out that Aries Angelos was immune to the Imperius curse and had managed to disarm Mad-Eye Moody, the dark wizard catcher extraordinaire.


	19. The Weighing of Wands

**The Weighing of Wands**

Aries frowned speculatively as he stared at the parchment in front of him. His new project of copying the Marauder's Map was coming along nicely. The idea of using the castle's wards to identify and track the people within was just brilliant and despite his misgivings, he could feel the grudging respect for James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. The Parselmagic was definitely helping to analyze the wards and the more he looked into it, the more he found himself impressed by its design. The Founders were a group of genius even by today's level. No wonder these Wand-Wizards were singing their praise whenever the topic came up.

The parchment in front of him displayed the vague impression of the layout of the castle but lacked the foot prints symbolizing the inhabitants. Whereas the Muggle world relied on DNA, magic users gave off their own unique auras. They could be very similar to each other, but no two were alike. Thus by locking onto their magic, the wards could be used to identify the person no matter the disguise and track them.

He had brainstormed with Meciel of how to upgrade the Maruader's Map and decided that the original lacked the status of everyone in the castle or on the ground. It only showed the names of the people but lacked their house affiliation, whether they were students or staffs, or visitors. Also, the Map only had the layout of Gryffindor's dorm but not other three houses. He'd have to break into two other dorms to categorize them into his project.

In a short time since he had spent in Hogwarts, Aries had discovered how ridiculously easy it was for the people to undertake art of deception and subterfuge. The Wizarding World simply offered variety of items that anyone could exploit. Polyjuice and glamor charms were simply just one of many method to fool others. He could think of at least a dozen of ways to exploit them for whatever nefarious purpose he imagined.

_'If only the Muggles knew about them.'_ Meciel mused amusedly. _'Their military and criminal underworld would be having multiple orgasms at the potential use Polyjuice or glamor charms can provide.'_

_'More like potential misuse.' _Aries snorted.

Shifting his eyes toward ancient tomes, he skimmed across the contents once more regarding the wards. With Meciel whispering advices, he pressed his wand onto the parchment and hissed out the necessary incantation. Slowly, but steadily, the map glowed as he felt it slowly become connected with the castle's legendary wards. When the glow faded, he let out a satisfied smirk. He was nearly halfway there and it wouldn't take long before he completed his creation.

_'That's it for the day's work.'_

He delicately closed the ancient tomes and laid on his bed lazily. Technically, it was time for Ancient Runes but he could care less. He was already near the Mastery level and probably could get "Outstanding" in N.E.W.T. if he tried. The school curriculum simply didn't teach him anything he needed to know.

_'I wonder if we could adjust our map so that it could alert us if the Marauder's Map is being used.'_ Meciel said thoughtfully.

_'Hmmm. That's not a bad idea.' _Aries thought absently. _'I have no doubt Potter and his minions would use the Map to track me. It would be nice to know when they are trying to spy on me.'_

His mental conversation was cut short by the sound of a soft popping noise. Immediately, he jumped off from the bed and landed in a crouch position as he pulled out his wand to curse- a house elf?

The house elf in question looked almost ready to faint at the sight of his wand, which was glowing at the tip with dark and malevolent magic.

"What is it?" Aries grunted sourly. He was still twitchy from the interruption.

"The headmaster requests your presence for Weighing of the Wands!" The house elf squeaked out in terror before popping away.

For a moment he just crouched in the same position. "What the fuck is the Weighing of the Wands?" He huffed.

_'It's a tradition in the Triwizard Tournament. Looks like they'll be continuing the custom despite becoming Tetraschool Tournament now.'_ Meciel said mildly.

"That still doesn't answer the question Meciel." Aries grunted as he threw on the necktie. He really didn't like wearing a necktie.

_'The Weighing of the Wands was established to prevent champions from using unfair advantage to win the competition. They usually tinkered their wands with dark magic to ensure an edge over others.' _Meciel answered. _'Over time, it became more of a tradition when the Tournament became less dangerous.'_

_'You read about it when we were researching about the Tournament. Don't you remember it?' _Meciel sighed after a moment.

"Errr not really."

_'Why am I not surprised?'_

He rolled his eyes and slid in his wands at their holsters. After a moment of consideration, he decided to attach the gun holster at his hip and slung Judgment over his shoulder. It felt good to have the reassuring weight of his weapons on him once more.

It wasn't until he made his way out of the Slytherin dorm that he realized he had no idea where he was supposed to go.

_'Fuck. That stupid house elf didn't tell me where to go.'_ He thought sourly.

_'Well, you were about to curse it...'_ Meciel mentioned dryly.

_'That's beside the point.'_

With an annoyed huff, he wandered the halls looking for the location. The occasional students he saw quickly stepped aside after seeing the sword handle sticking out from behind his shoulder. It wasn't until he crossed the entrance of Great Hall that he heard a familiar voice.

"Aries!"

With a sigh, the Denarian turned around. There was only one person in this godforsaken castle who'd actually approach him with cheerful tone.

"Brat." He grunted.

Amanda Carpenter felt her cheeks flush with heat when his piercing emerald eyes met her own. It had been few days since their "incident" on the third floor when she reluctantly tagged along the Benjamin and others. Ever since then, she had been so mortified by the memory that she could barely look at the Denarian's face without her face turning red, much less confront him to talk. Also, there was a fact that he landed himself in a serious trouble, again.

"What's up?" She asked in her usual cheerful tone as she fell in steps with him when he turned to resume his walking.

"Well there are lots of things that are up." He began with his usual condescending tone. "Like my boner for example."

Amanda let out a squeak and stuttered for a reply when the raven haired boy gave a leering, side-long glance. Aries smirked at her embarrassed face.

"You know, I never really expected a daughter of the Knight to be so... horny." He finished with full blown grin as he turned around a corner.

Amanda looked as if she wanted nothing more than to be swallowed up by the earth at the moment. Utilizing her distraction, the Denarian swiftly spun her around and trapped her between his arms as he leaned forward.

"So did you enjoy the experience like I did?" He purred next to her ear.

Amanda's first instinct was to push against his chest but when his breath tickled her ear, she immediately stiffened as pleasurable shiver ran down her spine. It was just ridiculous what kind of feeling he could elicit from her.

"Wha- No! No, o-of course not." She stammered unconvincingly.

Unfortunately, he easily picked up her lie. "Oh really? You don't sound all that confident." He drawled as he grinned wickedly down at her beet red face.

"I am confident!" She huffed but couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.

He brought up his hand and gently tilted her face upward until she met his eyes. Amanda bit her lower lips subconsciously, a habit of hers that he picked up when she was nervous or embarrassed.

"Amanda. Amanda." He said softly. "Don't you know lying is a sin?" He grinned at her.

She shivered once more at how he purred her name. This was third floor all over again and she better end this before she lost her control like she did before.

"Aries, what if someone sees us? We're in a hallway." She feebly tried to change the subject.

"So what? It didn't stop you from having an orgasm in the hallway." He teased with amusement clearly evident in his voice.

Her storm cloud eyes darted up to meet his with equal mixture of horror, embarrassment and whole lot of others.

"Aries!" She squeaked.

He buried his face in her neck and took in a breath and felt the girl shiver in his arms.

"You know, you smelled like mangos the last time." He whispered. "It's strawberry and lemon today."

When he heard her stutter incoherently he channeled magic to his finger and ran it down her spine.

"Eeep!"

Amanda shuddered as strange sensation of pleasure ran down her spine following the boy's finger and felt her legs almost collapse. Thankfully, the Denarian tightened his arms and held her up.

"Like that did you?" He said coyly. "Now, do you know where the champions are supposed to go for the Weighing of the Wands?"

"Ummm, I don't know for sure." She muttered weakly as she held onto his shirt for dear life as he ran down his finger up and down her spine. Each strokes sent soothing pleasure to her spine, much like massage. "But you can always ask a house elf for help..."

Aries blinked in surprise at her suggestion.

_'Shit, why the hell didn't I think of that?'_

_'As always, your towering intellect is astounding as ever.'_ Meciel's dry voice spoke up.

Huffing mentally at Meciel's teasing, Aries looked down at the girl in his arms who was desperately trying not to mewl like a cat and he smirked in satisfaction. Looks like the annoying brat wasn't a complete moron like so many others...

"Hmph, not bad Amanda." He said mildly. "I think I'll do just that."

With that he released his arms and took a step back while she staggered slightly while staring at him with flushed face.

"House elf!" He barked.

With a popping noise, a house elf faithfully popped in front of him. "You is calling for Ippy?" The house elf asked him as its big, round eyes fixed on him.

"Take me to where the Weighing of Wands is taking place." He commanded.

"Follow Ippy. I'll be taking you there."

As he followed the eager looking house elf who was more than happy to help him, Aries turned his head and threw one last smirk over his shoulder at the flushed and embarrassed looking blonde.

"See you around brat." He said cheerfully.

.oOo.

Albus Dumbledore smiled serenely as he listened the complaints by Rita Skeeter and her ever-present photographer. Ludo Bagman was pacing the floor with displeased frown while Crouch was leaning against the wall and brooding. In the far corner, James and Lily Potter were conversing quietly with Sirius Black while shooting occasional looks toward the door. Initially, he wasn't sure if allowing the Potters to come to the ceremony was a good idea, especially considering that Rita Skeeter was attending it as well.

Naturally, the poisonous woman had gone straight for the Potters the moment they entered concerning their estranged son, looking for ways to provoke them. She didn't back off until James and Sirius threatened to use their political influence to make it difficult for her. Next, she got around asking the other champions but surprisingly, they remained tight lipped much to her frustration.

Dumbledore sighed inwardly as he beheld tired sadness in Lily's eyes. The Potters were still trying to patch things up with their eldest son but it was much more difficult than they had predicted. Really, how was he supposed to break it to them, if ever, that their estranged son was now a Denarian? A human-turned-hellspawn who sold his soul for power? The most alarming news was that Aries had been all too willing to be a Denarian. There was not a shred of remorse for his actions and he reveled in the dark power brought on by his status. However, the old headmaster still held onto frail hope that Aries would one day come back to the Light.

"The nerve of the boy, making us wait." Karkaroff, the Durmstrang headmaster, grumbled darkly as he glared at the door.

"We 'ave been waiting for twenty minutes now Dumbleedore." Madame Maxime muttered with irritation. "Where iz he?"

"I'm sure he'll be here soon Madame." He replied politely while sighing inwardly.

When he had originally sent for him, Aries was supposed to be in a class but it seemed that he had ditched the class, again. With no one knowing where the Denarian was, Dumbledore had asked a house elf to go fetch him.

Next to him, headmaster Smith shook his head in clear disappointment at the rudeness and muttered something about "impertinent youth." Before Skeeter could go onto her another complaint, the door opened to reveal the final champion, Aries Angelos.

Ludo Bagman spotted him quickly and bounded over with beaming smile. "Ah, here he is! The final champion!" He exclaimed.

"Mr. Angelos, how nice of you to finally join us." Dumbledore said as he strode forward before Bagman did something foolish to annoy the dangerous Denarian.

"It's not my fault that your house elf didn't tell me the location." He grunted in annoyed tone. He wasn't going to admit that it was technically his fault that the house elf popped away in fear.

Aries briefly looked around, taking in the surroundings. Krum and Crouch were both sitting on the chair with brooding look on their faces. Richard, the Salem's Champion, and Cedric turned and looked at him with neutral look on their faces before giving him a slight nod of acknowledgement. Benjamin and Neville alternated between scowling at him and Fleur, who was seated far away from them. The quarter Veela sniffed disdainfully at the glare and lecherous look the Boys-Who-Lived were sending her and glared at them in return. Further toward the back, the Potters were looking at him with sad and haunted look with Sirius, who was also giving a nasty glare toward Karkaroff. The Durmstrang headmaster ignored Sirius Black and Madame Maxime loomed over everyone else. Next to an ancient looking man who looked as old as Dumbledore, Molly Carpenter eyed him warily, her face completely blank.

Next to the seated Tournament judges was a witch with blonde hair that was set in elaborate and rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face and far too much make up if slight frown on Molly Carpenter's face was anything to judge by. She wore jeweled spectacles and her thick fingers clutched her sleek crocodile-skin handbag ended in two-inch nails, painted crimson. She was looking at him with something akin to a predatory gleam much to his disgust.

_'Why is this ugly bitch looking at me like a druggy needing a fix?'_ Aries grimaced.

_'Perhaps she wants your penis?'_ Meciel asked with amused tone. _'You're always going on about how you'd like to offer your sex service to women. That reminds me, what was the term? Ahh yes, you're a gigolo.'_

_'Whoa! Not cool Meciel! My service is only limited to beautiful women like yourself. If I have to fuck a ugly woman like her, my libido is going to die off completely.'_

"Aries Potter-"

"It's Angelos." Aries cut across her with firm tone. If the witch was annoyed, she didn't show any outward sign.

"Charmed to meet you." She flashed him a smile that just screamed fake. "I'm Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet."

In his head, Meciel throbbed once in recognition. Back during when he was young and investigating the Wand-Wizarding world, one of the sources he researched on was the Daily Prophet, the newspaper. The name Rita Skeeter was commonly featured on the news as the reporter and she was rather famous, or rather infamous, for her scathing articles and sheer outrageous lies she used that idiots of the Wizarding World just ate up. Her so-called-news were more like gossips rather than professional journalism.

This woman was nothing but trouble.

"I wonder if I could have a little chat with Aries before we start?" Skeeter said to Ludo Bagman, but her gaze was still fixed at Aries. "The mysterious Champion that no one knows about... you know to add bit of color?"

"Certainly!" Bagman cried enthusiastically before Aries could open his mouth.

"Wha-"

"Excellent!" Skeeter said.

James and Lily Potter knew nothing ever good came from that woman and was in the process of rising up when the reporter grabbed Aries by his arm and began dragging him away.

_'What the fuck?!'_

Aries dug his heel into the ground and scowled as Rita Skeeter stumbled slightly from the sudden stop. "What the hell are you doing?" Aries snapped irritably.

"Now, now, we are only going to have a chat. No need to-"

"I don't remember agreeing to anything." Aries hissed coldly.

The vile woman's grip on his arm tightened much to his disgust and anger when Bagman strode forward with friendly smile. "No need to be alarmed-"

"And who the hell do you think you are to make choices for me?" The Denarian snarled at the blonde, bumbling fool.

Bagman stammered at the hostile tone directed on him. Aries dismissed him and turned his burning emerald eyes to the reporter. "And as for you, you still haven't let go of my arm." He growled.

"Aries dear-"

"You can either let go of me yourself or I can remove it for you." Aries snapped as he glared disdainfully at Skeeter. Her smile became fixed at the hostility she received. "You have three seconds to comply."

"No need to be so harsh-"

"Three."

"-it's just an interview-"

"Two."

Dumbledore strode forward hastily to stop the deteriorating situation. The Denarian was growing angry and it wasn't going to be good.

"Mr. Angelos, I'm sure-"

"One."

Aries' other hand shot out and grabbed Skeeter's hand before twisting it savagely in a swift motion. There was a crack of bone followed by a scream of pain from Rita Skeeter. Aries grabbed the woman's elbow and bent it so that she was forced to bend forward or otherwise break the arm, and spun. As result Skeeter had to follow his movement in an awkward position and she was met with a powerful punch to her face. Aries smiled sadistically as his fist collided with the vile woman's face and felt her nose break. Reeling from pain, she instinctively leaned back but Aries grabbed her by her robes and pulled her down while simultaneously raising his leg to knee her in the stomach.

Her breath left her in a whoosh and Aries finished it with a devastating, downward jab of his elbow to her exposed back that left the woman on the ground convulsing in pain. Her mouth gaped wide open to suck in desperately needed oxygen but her lungs and diaphragm was in shock to properly work for the moment.

"I did warn you." He sneered at down at her convulsing form.

"Mr. Angelos!"

"Bloody hell!"

Dumbledore strode forward with serious face and with a flick of his wand, the reporter floated away from him before being lowered gently on the ground next to her cameraman, who immediately fretted over her convulsing form.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked harshly.

"I told her to let go, she didn't." He scowled at the old headmaster.

"That doesn't excuse your sudden and violent behavior!"

"Well maybe you should've taught her to value other people's personal space and stop being a pushy bitch!"

Aries Angelos and Albus Dumbledore glared at one another, neither willing to budge an inch. The tense situation was broken by loud, barking laughter as Sirius Black howled in his mirth.

"Oh Merlin! I-I nev-never thought-" He cackled with laughter.

"Sirius control yourself!" Dumbledore reprimanded him.

"C'mon Dumbledore, no need to be so uptight about everything." Aries huffed. "See that? At least somebody appreciates my action."

"You do realize that such a blatant attack will result in your arrest?" He sighed when Sirius continued to laugh like a hyena shortly joined by James Potter much to Lily's consternation. Although the old headmaster detected a hint of mirth and satisfaction behind her irritation and shock at Aries' action.

"So does invading other people's personal space and coercing them to give an interview." He retorted without missing a beat.

"Besides, no one likes her anyway." Aries added after a moment, causing Sirius to redouble his laughter.

It took nearly another twenty minutes for the resident school nurse to come and heal Rita Skeeter so that she could breathe and move without wincing. During that time, Skeeter looked venomously at Aries Angelos, who merely grinned cheekily at her much to Dumbledore's chagrin.

"I didn't know you 'it women Aries." Fleur murmured softly at the raven haired wizard sitting next to her. Not too close to suggest intimacy but not too far apart to suggest they were strangers.

"I'm all for treating people fairly regardless of age, gender, race, economic standing, political affiliation, religion, or whatnot." Aries replied easily as his voice was heard easily over the din of fussing Poppy Promphey.

_'Right.'_ Meciel drawled in his head. _'That's why you discriminate against the ugly, fat, and especially stupid people. You're the paragon of fair treatment.'_

_'Touché Meciel. I never said that I was perfect and it's not my fault that most scums I deal with on regular basis are either ugly, fat, or stupid. And more often than not, all above.'_

"Also, I make it my personal job to permanently remove the scums, idiots, parasites, useless, and etcetera from the collective gene pool with extreme prejudice." He said with cheerful voice was he leered over at Skeeter, who was gritting her teeth, with shark-like smile.

Dumbledore and Molly Carpenter looked warily at him but Aries merely gave them a wide, innocent smile. Beside him, Fleur let out a snort of amusement and turned her head to hide her twitching lips which were threatening to become a smile, causing Benjamin and Neville to glare at him in jealousy.

A fuss of noise caused the attention to shift toward furious looking Rita Skeeter who glared murderously at smirking Aries Angelos.

"How dare to attack me you foul, degenerate dog!" Skeeter snarled as her fingers curled in good impression of claws. "Rest assured that you'll pay for this! By the time I'm done writing my article, you'll be tossed straight to the Azkaban!"

Instead of anger or fear like she had been expecting, Aries grew more and more amused at her rant and eventually let out a bark of laughter. "You seem to be under delusion that I actually care about what the Wand-Wizards think of me. As far as I know, all of you are either inbred Neanderthals who severely lack common sense or hairless, sperm-burping monkeys without spines or pair of balls."

Dumbledore sighed inwardly as everyone gawked at him with incredulous expressions on their faces. Aries had managed to insult entire Wizarding World and its inhabitants in span of few seconds. However, a small part of him couldn't help but to chuckle slightly at the fact that Rita Skeeter had finally met her match. Every victim of her poisonous quill had suffered under the shame and embarrassment and often became a social outcast and laughing stock of the entire society. Aries Angelos, on the other hand, showed utter and complete disregard for everyone else's opinions and made no effort to hide his contempt for the society in general. He highly doubted the Denarian cared much about his reputation.

Skeeter sputtered for few moments. "We-well you should!" She argued angrily. "When someone who is clearly your better decides to grace you with their attention, you _should_ care!"

"Well, since there is no one in the existence that can call themselves my better, they can all just kiss my well-sculpted ass." He retorted.

The confrontation was broken by Dumbledore clearing his throat. "If we are quite finished, may I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" He said as he pointedly looked at black haired teen and the reporter.

Rita Skeeter reluctantly back off with a snarl while Aries sneered at her nastily before turning his attention toward the wand-maker. He was exactly the same as he remembered with large, pale eyes and wizened features. He could still recall the day he visited his shop nearly 6 years ago when he was only 9 years old. Shortly after acquiring his wand, he had forced the man into secrecy to protect his identity. Today just might be the day when another of his secrets comes out.

"Ladies first, Mademoiselle Delacour." Ollivander said as he stepped into the empty space in the middle of the room.

Fleur stood up and gracefully made her way toward him, with an extra sway of her hips when she spotter Aries eyeing her out of corner of her eye. Aries stared appreciatively at her form before flickering his eyes to meet Salem's champion. Richard Banks, if he recalled correctly, met his gaze evenly before tilting his head toward Fleur and giving a slightly knowing grin.

The quarter Veela was undeniably hot.

"Hmm..." he said.

The wand-maker traced her wand with his hand and twirled it between his fingers like a baton and watched it emit soft blue and golden sparks. He brought it closer to his eyes and examined the wand carefully.

"I'm not familiar with the design." He muttered. "I assume it's custom made?"

"Oui," she replied, "eet was made for me when I waz young."

"Rosewood... nine and a half inches... sturdy and inflexible...and oh dear..."

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela, my grandmuzzer's." She said proudly.

"I don't normally use a veela hair was one of my cores. I have tired plucking it from one of the veelas once. Nearly ended up hospitalized." Ollivander gave a rueful chuckle at Fleur slightly surprised look.

He swished and conjured a bouquet of flowers before handing it to her. "Unorthodox but powerful in its own right. It's inflexible, but it has to be, considering the core is rather volatile. Your wand is uniquely suited to you, since it's a custom made. You have a very passionate wand mademoiselle Delacour."

Fleur gracefully accepted her wand back and returned to her seat, brushing past Aries as she did so.

"Your eyez are wandering Aries." She teased him, causing the emerald eyed boy's lips to quirk up.

"They aren't wandering," he drawled. "They are right where I want them to be."

Fleur raised her eyebrow and gave him a challenging stare, which he returned with a roguish smirk.

"Next?"

Viktor Krum slouched toward Ollivander. He stood scowling and thrust out his wand.

"Hmmm, this is one of Gregorovitch's creation... Hornbeam wood with a dragon heartstring... very rigid as is his style... ten and a quarter inches."

Ollivander tapped the wand. _"Avis!"_

A flock of birds shot out and flew out the window.

"You have a very sturdy wand, Mr. Krum. Good for dueling and offensive magic, it's more suited toward raw power then finesse." He handed the wand back.

"Zhang you." Krum said gruffly.

"Next?"

The Salem's champion strode up to him before handing his wand.

"Ahhh another customized wand." Ollivander muttered. "Cedar wood... eleven and a half inches...reasonably springy...containing... a thunder bird's tail feather."

Richard smiled bashfully at Ollivander's inquisitive stare.

"Your wand is well-balanced Mr. Banks although it does show inclination toward Charms and Transfiguration." He said.

Richard nodded gratefully and made his way back.

"Next?"

Tall, handsome looking boy with Hufflepuff's crest on his uniform strode forward.

"Mr. Diggory." Ollivander greeted as he handed his wand."Ah, this is one of mine isn't it?"

He ran his finger along its length while observing it closely. "Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn... Twelve and a quarter inches... ash wood... pleasantly flexible. It's in fine condition... You treat it regularly?"

"Polished it last night." said Cedric, grinning.

"You have a very compassionate wand, Mr. Diggory, and very loyal too." Olliander said. "It excels at defensive and healing magic and will not change its allegiance even when the owner changes."

Cedric nodded happily and returned to his seat.

"Next?"

Neville Longbottom stood up and made his way to him, scowling at Aries when he saw him in conversation with the pretty quarter veela.

"Mr. Longbottom." He acknowledged the boy as he accepted the wand.

Neville inclined his head and stuck his hands in his pocket as Ollivander inspected his wand.

"Cherry wood... exactly thirteen inches... with a unicorn hair...this wand suits you well... it's more defense oriented with a strong inclination toward Charms." He muttered. "I do hope you don't find yourself in a situation where you'll have to use it against its nature Mr. Longbottom."

Neville nodded thoughtfully.

"Next?"

Benjamin Potter hesitated in his seat and threw a quick glance at his older brother, who seemed to be oblivious at what was happening as he seemed to be in a conversation with Fleur Delacour. Aries whispered something too soft for him to hear and Benjamin glared when the veela turned her head away, biting her lips in silent laughter.

With an annoyed huff, he rose from his seat and walked toward Ollivander.

"Larch wood... eleven and a half inches long...with a phoenix feather as a core... one of my most unusual combination." He said softly. "I assume you don't polish as often?"

Benjamin flushed.

"If he spends at least half the time he spends polishing his _other_ magical wand, it wouldn't be in such a sorry state." Aries' dry voice broke the quiet silence.

Fleur's eyes went wide before she hid her smile behind her hand, but her shoulders shook from her silent laughter. Cedric coughed to mask his snigger but Richard didn't seemed to have as much success judging by the sound of his laughter. Krum let out a snort of amusement and Neville seemed torn between anger and laughter.

Dumbledore didn't react but his eyes suspiciously twinkled more than usual. Various other adults reacted predictably, some with embarrassment and others with amusement.

"Shut up, you Slytherin scum!" Benjamin hissed as he sought to push down embarrassment.

"How creative." Aries drawled as he rolled his eyes. "But hey, let me give you an advice. Try using a tub of Vaseline to clean your _wand_. It's rather popular muggle _wand cleaning_ tool. Just make sure to get your wrist movements down and have a box of tissues at hand." He mocked in a patronizing tone.

As Benjamin sputtered incoherently, Fleur hastily covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. Cedric and Richard had no such luck as they were openly guffawing on their seats while Victor coughed into his hand unconvincingly. Aries watched Dumbledore closely from the corner of his eyes and he could've sworn that his beard kept twitching.

"I suppose this is coming from your personal experience?" Benjamin sneered after sputtering for a while.

"Of course not. Only the desperate and incompetent ever do it themselves. I prefer to acquire services from smoking hot vampires." Aries said with a sly smile. "And for the record, they use natural lubricants."

The other champions quickly succumbed under laughter as some clutched their stomachs while wiping tears of laughter. Even the usually stoic and brooding Krum was laughing as well. By the time laughter had subsided, Benjamin's face was red with fury and embarrassment.

"Right." Ollivander coughed. "Next?"

Aries rose and strode forward. As the brothers passed, the Denarian sent a mocking smile at the Boy-Who-Lived, further infuriating him. Large, pale eyes stared at him unblinkingly and Aries met the wand-maker's gaze evenly with his own piercing stare.

"Mr. Potter, or is it Mr. Angelos now?" Ollivander said solemnly. "I can't examine your wand in front of them because of the oath." He said the last part quietly so only he may hear.

Aries grimaced. He really didn't like exposing his secrets. There was that one time in Dumbledore's office when he allowed them to know his dark and bloody past but that was because it would be beneficial for him in the long run. It would've been nearly impossible to hide the fact that he's a dark wizard from the Wand-Wizards. Potters and Black would've done everything they can to know _everything_ about him and that's not counting the Hogwarts' staff. It was much better to come out clean from the beginning.

The best way to keep a secret was to toss another, lesser secret out in the open so that really important ones would stay hidden. By giving them a glimpse into his bloody past, he was able to hide the fact that he was a Denarian. It wasn't that hard to reveal that he was inherently dark due to his upbringing without alarming them too much.

_'Well played... looks like we're in a check.'_ Meciel softly murmured.

_'What do you think Meciel? Do you think I should lift his oath?'_ Aries asked silently.

_'I think you should. You never bothered to hide the fact that you're a dark wizard and it wouldn't be that much of a surprise that you had somehow gotten a wand from Ollivander.'_ She advised.

_'And what about the fact that my holly wand is a brother wand to the Voldemort guy's?'_

_'I doubt he'd go off sprouting about that in the public.'_

Aries nodded in acceptance. "I release you from your vow, Garrick Ollivander."

The judges and other adults in the room started at his words as the wand-maker sighed softly as the magic released him from his vow.

"Mr. Ollivander, do you mind explaining what just happened?" James Potter asked curiously. "Why were you in a vow?"

"Young Mr. Angelos came to my shop several years ago and bought a wand." He said simply. "After he purchased his wand, he swore me into secrecy so that I wouldn't tell anyone."

Potters looked surprised and Dumbledore ran his hands along his beard as he stared thoughtfully at the Denarian.

"Why have you done that Aries?" Sirius asked at his godson.

"Oh I don't know... because it would've been weird if a presumed dead person came to buy a wand?" Aries said sarcastically.

"Nonetheless, may I have your wand Mr. Angelos?" Ollivander cut across before another argument could happen.

With a flick of his wrist, the wand shot out from its holster and he deftly twirled around before reluctantly handing it over. Ollivander accepted it almost gingerly as if handling a poisonous snake. He carefully examined the wand in detail and his face flickered in surprise as he ran his finger over the elaborately carved runes on the wand.

"These runes... I haven't seen them in ages... interesting, very interesting indeed." He murmured thoughtfully as he inspected them.

He seemed to close his eyes before opening them slowly. He immediately shuddered as he beheld the wand. It was small, but noticeable nonetheless. Aries frowned in confusion before his face cleared in understanding. He was using his Third Sight to see the true nature of wand and the runes engraved on it. The Hellfire was extremely potent but dark energy that was inherently evil. It was infused with fury, hatred, lust, and other dark desires of human consciousness. He had been channeling the Hellfire into it every single day, making it rather painful to view under Third Sight as it radiated such emotions. Aries let out a small, vicious smirk when Ollivander broke his gaze from the wand while blinking rapidly.

"I'm fine Albus." Said the wand maker before Dumbledore could open his mouth.

Ollivander turned his silvery gaze back to the Denarian with solemn expression. "These runes amplify your magic from... alternative source, yes?"

Aries gave a curt nod.

"Can the wand be used in the competition?" Dumbledore asked as he warily looked at the wand.

"Oh yes, this wand will, no doubt, give a rather spectacular performance. Just don't expect delicacy or finesse from it." Ollivander said. "Now for the wand itself..."

He turned it this way and that as he traced along its length. "I remember the day just like yester day... holly wood... eleven inches... nice and supple...with phoenix tail feather for a core... one of my most unusual combination."

Out of the corner of his eye, Aries could have sworn Dumbledore start, but when he turned his head, the ancient headmaster was still wearing a pleasant expression. Ollivander frowned as he tapped the wand softly and it let out black sparks.

"Mr. Angelos... has there been any occasions when the wand ever felt.. uncomfortable?" He asked with a slight frown.

"Actually, yeah." Aries said slowly.

"How often has it been occurring?"

"Several times. It seems to happen more regularly." He answered with a shrug.

Ollivander nodded in acceptance. "Your wand is deteriorating. It was never meant to channel... your alternative power source and you are forcing it to go against its nature."

"Forcing it to go against its nature? Could you explain that more?" Skeeter asked as her quill scratched across parchments.

Aries scowl at her. He had forgotten she was still here.

"Holly is one of the rarer kinds of wand woods; traditionally considered protective it works most happily for those who may need help overcoming a tendency to anger and impetuosity. At the same time, holly wands often choose owners who are engaged in some dangerous and often spiritual quest." Ollivander explained to the audience. "Holly tree symbolizes protection, overcoming of anger and spiritual warrior. It often bonds with "Light" wizards."

"Does that mean that Angelos here is straying from the light? My, my, what a story it'll make!" Rita said with delightful grin.

"I would be careful of what you publish Skeeter." James spat angrily.

"The public has the right to know, Mr. Potter." Skeeter said with a poisonous smile.

James growled but was surprise when he heard Lily growl behind him while glaring daggers at the reporter.

"Overcoming a tendency to anger and impetuosity? Well, it certainly worked out magnificently." Aries snorted in amusement. "And as for dangerous and spiritual quest, I certainly did go on it. Just not the way it expected." He said with malicious grin.

Ollivader nodded gravely. "While you're wand was suited for wider range of magic compared to other wands, it's still light oriented. The phoenix feather also does tend to lean toward the light. By actively forcing the wand to go against its nature, the wand is beginning to reject you. The runes you've carved onto it also doesn't help the matters."

Aries shrugged. "I knew it would happen eventually. I never denied the fact that I prefer Dark Magic."

The other champions looked at him warily while Skeeter actually snatched the Quick-Quotes Quill out of air and began to write herself with eager gleam in her eyes.

"How long will it last? Will it last until the end of the tournament?" Aries asked.

"Yes, I believe so. However, it'll soon cease its functioning within a year or so." He said quietly.

Aries nodded in acceptance and took his wand back.

"Mr. Angelos, I believe you had another wand in your possession." Dumbledore interrupted mildly.

Aries frowned as he glared at the headmaster. Reluctantly, he flicked his other wrist and withdrew his steel wand. For the first time, in the ceremony, Ollivander's eyes shone with excitement as he accepted the wand much like how a mother accepts a newborn baby.

"Steel. This is steel." He breathed.

"Steel? I'm sorry but wands were made out of wood, not steel." Bagman asked with puzzled expression.

Ollivander just ignored the man and stupefied audience and eagerly focused on the wand.

"Exactly twelve inches, straight as an arrow, with no curves or indentations." He muttered.

He waved the wand and frowned when the wand failed to react.

"Interesting, very interesting. It seems the wand doesn't react to me."

"It doesn't react to you? Does this mean its fake?" Rita asked eagerly as she scratched her quill in frenzied pace.

"No, it's definitely not fake." Ollivander shook his head as he ran his fingers along the wand's surface. "I can feel the magic in the wand. Faint, but it's still there..."

"I wonder..." Ollivander closed his eyes before activating his Third Sight once again. "Could it be? Yes... yes, I see now..."

The wand maker turned it off and looked solemnly at him. "Blood. The core of your wand is blood."

Eyes turned to Aries. He smirked but nodded nonetheless.

"My own actually."

"Fascinating... no one has ever been able to make a wand out of steel." Ollivander breathed. "Although... something about the blood does feel... off."

"I never said the blood was a human blood." Aries said with a particularly nasty smile.

Ollivander snapped his eyes toward his. Upon meeting his burning emerald eyes, he shivered.

"I see..."

Dumbledore and Molly Carpenter found themselves grimacing. They both knew that Denarians had their own "demon forms." Forms that reflected the darkness in their hearts and often chosen by the Fallen inhibiting them.

"This steel is not your ordinary steel." The wand maker continued, unaware of the audience as he stared curiously at the wand. "Normal steel won't be able to have magic on them... but this one, on the other hand..."

"You're a sharp one aren't you?" Aries mused but there was no amusement in his cold eyes.

"There is magic on this steel... very ancient magic that I haven't felt in a long time..." Ollivander fixed the Denarian with his gaze. "The Fae magic."

Aries smiled thinly in response.

Dumbledore looked intensely at the Denarian's back. There was no way that he'd be able to get a steel that's able to channel Fae magic. Faes, both the Winter and the Summer, hated steel and it would be almost impossible for the steel to have their magic lingering on them.

Unless... his eyes widened in surprise. Unless Aries somehow found his way into the Nevernever and stumbled upon the steel. As unlikely it might've been, it answered so many of his questions. Aries did hint that he had previous dealing with the Faes considering his accurate description of Fawkes. Not to mention, the steel would probably had been in Nevernever for several millennia, allowing the realm's magic to settle on magic-resisting metal.

"Many wand makers have tried using steel as a wand material since its very property makes it much better alternative compare to wood. It's stronger and sturdier as well. Excessive amount of magic would cause the wood to explode into fragments but with steel, it's very unlikely to happen. Because wood isn't as durable as steel, it leaks out magic from their bodies, which is the reason why _Prior Incantato_ spell is effective. Every time a spell is used, it leaves its unique signature on the wand. However, steel makes it impossible as the spell's magical energy is entirely contained within it. Which is one reason why steel is able to contain blood's volatile nature as proven by this wand."

"I assume it had taken several mistakes to make this wand Mr. Angelos..." Ollivander trailed off. "Blood is rather a volatile core."

"The first few times I tried, it nearly blew off my hands." He snorted.

James and Sirius swore out loud while Lily gasped and clutched her chest, breathing hard. The fact that Aries nearly lost his hands unsettled them greatly.

Ollivander nodded gravely. "There is a reason why wand-makers don't use blood as a wand core. It's the most powerful core that anyone can use in their wands, but also the most volatile. The blood is the most powerful physical medium which magic flows through and many aspiring wizards, whether wandmaker or not, have sought to use the Blood Magic. However, the problem was that it was too powerful, too volatile. Many magic users have tried to use blood in their spells or experiments for maximum potency and found it backfiring rather spectacularly."

Lily let out a horrified gasp and had to restrain the urge to go over there and start yelling at her son. The other champions paled and looked at Aries with hint of respect. Fleur bit her lips and stared intently at the raven haired wizard. He had hinted that his life was harsh and that he was willing to do whatever necessary to acquire power. If this was only a glimpse of what he's capable of, then she didn't want to know how far he's willing to go.

"Will you be able to replicate a wand like that Mr. Ollivander?" Headmaster Smith asked curiously.

"No, I don't believe so." The wand maker shook his head. "For one, it's an ingenious use of magic that I'm not sure if I can replicate and I highly doubt Mr. Angelos would part with it no matter the length of time."

"Like hell I will." Aries muttered.

"Does this mean that he can use Dark Arts freely without getting caught?" Karkaroff asked brusquely.

Aries glared distastefully at the man.

Ollivander frowned. "Seeing as the magical energy is completely contained in the wand, I doubt anyone would be able to tell what spells were used last."

"Then the wand is clearly out of the bound!" Karkaroff immediately accused. "It'll give unfair advantage to him and must be banned!"

"A cheat! Aries Angelos brings illegal wand to gain unfair advantage!" Rita Skeeter crowed. "How scandalous!"

"I'm sorry did you say something?" Aries said. "I just find it hard to hear the words coming out of your mouth with all the shit that's in there from all the ass-licking you had to do to stay out of Azkaban - so sorry."

Karkaroff sputtered with outrage while the champions gaped at his sheer audacity. Dumbledore frowned at his behavior.

"Mr. Angelos!" He snapped. "You will apologize to High Master Karkaroff. He deserves your, and our, respect."

"Sorry for my flippant attitude Dumbledore," Aries sneered scornfully. "but respect is earned, not given."

"Boy! I'll-"

"Do nothing." The Denarian cut across him. "I never cared about whatever bullshits you Wand-Wizards spewed out in general. Especially if it's coming from a Death Eater."

Aries smiled coldly at the suddenly pale faced man. "You can try to hide all you want but I can feel the dark magic radiating from your left arm. It's faint but it's still there."

Karkaroff reflexively brought up his hand and clasped his forearm.

"You know, you Death Eaters don't have a good track record against me." Aries mused with mocking smile. "Your buddies got their collective asses handed to me during the World Cup, Snape got his face bashed, and Lucifer lost his pimp cane. I can always rearrange your face if you want..."

The room was silent as tension was palpable. Karkaroff had rather funny face as if he couldn't decide to whether redden in anger or pale in fear. In the end, he gritted his teeth and back down.

Dumbledore sent an apologetic look toward fuming Durmstrang head and cleared his throat. "High Master Karkaroff does raise a valid point though, can the wand be used?"

Before Ollivander could open his mouth, Aries cut across him. "You seem to be forgetting that Goblet of Fire is now destroyed, and with it, the ability to enforce the rules. Besides, I didn't voluntarily sign up for this mess so I don't see why I should play by the rules."

Before another argument could erupt, Molly Carpenter turned toward the stony Ministry official. "Mr. Crouch, you are the expert on the Tournament rules. Is his claim valid?" She quickly asked.

Crouch frowned as he stared thoughtfully at the wand. "The rules state that the champions may only use wands, it didn't specify the number of wands nor if it's made of wood or metal..."

"It doesn't matter if it's rules or not." Aries snapped impatiently. "The Goblet is destroyed, and so is the Tournament's penalty. The only magic remaining is its contract binding us to compete, however, it says nothing about anything else."

"Bu-But that's cheating!" Benjamin sputtered angrily from his seat.

"I didn't come here to play your stupid tournament. I came here because I was forced to, and I don't plan on playing by the rules." He snarled as sent baleful glare toward his brother.

Dumbledore sighed as he tiredly rubbed forehead. The Denarian absolutely had no desire to comply with the situation regardless if it was disruptive to others or not. He seemed to be determined to be defiant until the end and go down kicking and screaming.

"I believe I have stayed here long enough." Ollivander interrupted and he handed back the steel wand to its owner.

"Today has been a very interesting day. I have examined six powerful wands and one very unique one." He said. "I wish you all luck."

With a quick bow, Ollivander strode toward the door and disappeared from the room.

Aries glared at the room. "And for the record, I plan on using my sword and gun as well. Don't like it? Well, too bad. Suck it up and deal with it." He snapped.

"But the photos-" The photographer stammered.

Aries ignored the protest and strode out of the room.

* * *

**Author Notes: Sorry for the short chapter, I had tough time writing it with all the college finals and all... **

**I'm not sure if the Marauder's Map shows the layout of dorms. I have no doubt that Gryffindor dorm is included but I don't remember if the canon said anything about the other 3 dorms.**

**As for the steel wand with blood core, it's little too much based on Crimson Lord's "Deprived" than I prefer. **

**Wand Woods:**** I have compiled the list of wand woods for each champions. I don't know much about the cores but each woods represent their own unique qualities that matches their wielders. The information is found on **_**Harry Potter Wiki**_**. Just google it.**

**Fleur Delacour**

_**Rosewood**_**: Rosewood symbolizes kindness and good heart. The tree is said to interact with man by spiritually and mentally harmonizing. Rosewood is also used for divination and love charms. (the Wiki doesn't say much about Rosewood and this is what I found online).**

**Viktor Krum**

_**Hornbeam**_**: It selects for its life mate the talented witch or wizard with a single, pure passion, which some might call obsession - more kindly - vision, which will almost always be realized. Hornbeam wands adapt more quickly than almost any other wands to their owner's style of magic, and will become so personalized, so quickly, that other people will find them extremely difficult to use even for the most simple of spells. Hornbeam wands likewise absorb their owner's code of honour, whatever that might be, and will refuse to perform acts - whether good or ill - that do not tally with their master's principles. A particularly fine-tuned sentient wand.**

**Richard Banks**

_**Cedar**_**: Garrick Ollivander believed that whenever he met one who carries a cedar wand, he found strength of character and unusual loyalty. His father, Gervaise Ollivander used always to say, **_**'you will never fool the cedar carrier,'**_** and he agrees: the cedar wand finds its perfect home where there is perspicacity and perception. Ollivander said that he would go further than his father, however, in saying that he has never yet met the owner of a cedar wand whom he would care to cross, especially if harm is done to those of whom they are fond. The witch or wizard who is well-matched with cedar carries the potential to be a frightening adversary, which often comes as a shock to those who have thoughtlessly challenged them. **

**Cedric Diggory**

_**Ash**_**: The ash wand clings to its one true master and ought not to be passed on or gifted from the original owner, because it will lose power and skill. This tendency is extreme if the core is of unicorn. Old superstitions regarding ****wands rarely bear close examination, but it is believed that the old rhyme regarding ****rowan, ****chestnut, ash and ****hazel wands (rowan gossips, chestnut drones, ash is stubborn, hazel moans) contains a small nugget of truth. Those ****witches and wizards best suited to ash wands are not lightly swayed from their beliefs or purposes. However, the brash or over-confident ****witch or wizard who often insists on trying wands of this prestigious wood, will be disappointed by its effects. The ideal owner may be stubborn, and will certainly be courageous, but never crass or arrogant. (Also, it's the Neville's first wand, his father's, in canon before he got his own.)**

**Neville Longbottom**

_**Cherry**_**: Cherry is very rare wand wood that makes for a ****wand of strange power, most highly prized by the wizarding students of the school of**** Mahoutokoro ****in ****Japan, where those who own cherry wands have special prestige. The Western wand-purchaser should dispel from their minds any notion that the pink blossom of the living tree makes for a frivolous or merely ornamental ****wand for cherry wood often makes a ****wand that possesses truly lethal power, whatever the core - though if paired with ****dragon heartstring, the wand ought never to be teamed with a wizard without exceptional self-control and strength of mind. **

**Benjamin Potter**

_**Larch:**_** Strong, durable, and warm in color, Larch has long been valued as an attractive and powerful wand wood. Its reputation for instilling courage and confidence in the user has ensured that demand has always outstripped supply. This much sought-after wand is, however, hard to please in the matter of ideal owners and trickier to handle than many imagine. The celebrated wandmaker, Garrick Ollivander, found that Larch always created wands of hidden talents and unexpected effects, which likewise describes the master who deserves it. It's more often the case that the witch or wizard who belongs to the Larch wand may never realize the full extent of their considerable talents until paired with it, but that they will then make an exceptional match.**

**Aries Angelos**

_**Holly:**_** Holly is one of the rarer kinds of wand woods; traditionally considered protective it works most happily for those who may need help overcoming a tendency to anger and impetuosity. At the same time, holly wands often choose owners who are engaged in some dangerous and often spiritual quest. Holly is one of those woods that varies most dramatically in performance depending on the wand core, it's a notoriously difficult wood to team with phoenix feather, as the wood's volatility conflicts strangely with the phoenix's detachment. In the unusual event of such a pairing, finding its ideal match, however, nothing and nobody should stand in their way.**

_**Iron**_**: (Gender: masculine, Element: fire) Iron is an ancient metal of strength and war. Of all the metals, iron is best suited for aggressive spells and aggressively-defensive magic. It has chaotic nature but also a hint of control and discipline. Iron promotes emotions of lust, courage, strength, confidence, resilience, and stamina. Iron can arguable be considered the most "human" of metals due to its deep connections to growth and dependence with respect to civilization. As a result, this metal is also the most distrusted by spirits and ethereal entities. However, in the proper hands, the metal is the ideal protector.**

_**Steel**_**: (Gender: masculine, Element: fire) Steel, which is a form of iron mixed with other components, is a younger, more educated metal than its parent metal ir****on****. Steel still retains iron's aggressive undertones but is balanced with attributes of education and intelligence. An easier way of putting it is that steel is less primal than iron and more refined. Steel is still a metal feared often by creatures of spiritual planes making it a good choice for amulets and spells designed to protect or guard. But because of steel is advanced form from the older iron, steel also crosses over into more industrial and intellectual endeavors. To work with steel is to work with a metal that is both forceful yet reserved. If iron is the old warrior, steel is the young captain.**

**Aries Angelos DOESN'T HAVE IRON. ****I included the iron so that it'll be easier to understand the steel.**


End file.
